The Songstress
by AnimeElena717
Summary: Himari Aisaka is a famous singer and violinist in Japan. Her life is not all happy though as her mother physically and mentally abuses her and keeps her on a strict schedule to keep her in the spotlight. When she runs into the Phantom Thieves, they soon find their next target, a new member, and a new adventure for a fellow Phantom Thief. DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT HIMARI
1. chapter 1

**_*hey guys! if any of you played Persona 5, then you know how it cool it is. i decided to do a fanfic with a character of mine. her name is Himari Aisaka, famous singer and violinest in Japan. its not all happy though as her mother physically and emotionally abuses her and keeps her on a strict, tight schedual to keep her in the spotlight for as long as she can. by chance, she ran into the Phantom Thieves of Heart and they soon found their next target to steal(plus, shes paired with Ryuji cz i love this goofball)_**

 **Chapter 1 By Chance**

She ran past the staring onlookers, heading straight for the elevators. She couldn't be late, not even for a second. What excuse would she have? She was too busy looking at last minute preparations for the show and her outfit. It's not like she would understand anyway. She stopped when there was huge crowd around the elevator doors. Were people really here for any important reasons? She looked down at her phone. She gasped as she only had five minutes left to get back. She couldn't risk anything. She quickly pushed by the people, saying sorry at everyone she pushed. She pushed by the last two people and frantically pushed the button to go up.

"Hey, we were here first!" She heard a boy's voice say. She looked up at the numbers slowing going to her floor. She didn't even bother to look back at the voice.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry." She said. "Please, I'm really sorry." She said, still not looking back. She suddenly felt herself get tugged around to face two boys about her age. One with frizzy black hair and glasses and the other with blonde, short hair. Both had the same blazer and pants. The blonde boy had his blazer open though.

"Look, we're all in a hurry. Why don't we share the lift?" The boy with glasses said. He looked up for a second and back at her. "We're going up too." The girl heard the door ding behind her. She looked back at before looking back at them. She nodded her head at them and said ok. The three of them went inside, pushed their floors and waited for the elevator to ascend there. The first few minutes were awkwardly quiet. Neither of them spoke, interacted or even made a noise. She slightly swayed her body to keep her anxiety in check. She looked up at the numbers, slowly getting to her floor first. She looked down at her phone again. 2 minutes had passed. She let out a sigh, the first sound either of them had let out.

"Look, sorry I kinda yelled at you back there." The blonde boy said. She looked up at him. He had a warm smile on his face that his eyes shared. He awkwardly rubbed his neck. "My name is Ryuji Sakamato. That's Akira." He pointed the other boy out. She turned to him. He gave her a small wave. She turned back to Ryuji, almost ready to speak when the door dinged again. She let out another sigh and quickly turned to him.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to go." She said. With that, she quickly walked out of the elevator, but turned back again, surprising the two boys. "Oh, and apology accepted." She turned and left again as the door closed. Ryuji and Akira stood ther in silence for a second.

"Interesting girl, huh, Ryuji?" Akira said. Ryuji leaned against the wall of the elevator.

"Yeah she seemed... stressed." He said.

"Yeah, like that wasn't apparent from the start." A voice said. Morgana suddenly poked his head out of Akira's bag. "Something was definetley off with her." The door dinged again. The two guys got off to their floor.

The Phantom Thieves have done it again! They successfully brought down another Palace and its ruler. As a reward and since they got enough money for it, they're spending their summer vacation at a 5 star hotel, treated to fine dinning, the beach, but their main reason was to attend a concert that Yusuke and Makoto were hoping to go to. It was of Himari Aisaka, a famous singer and violinist since she was 7. Since she was coming to town, the whole gang decided to go as a celebration for their new victory. Ryuji and Futaba weren't exactly looking forward to it, but it was better than nothing. Akira and Ryuji finally got to their suite and went inside. The gang was all there, each doing their own usual thing: Ann was on her phone, Yusuke was sketching, Makoto was reading, Futaba was on her laptop, and Haru was laying on the bed, daydreaming. Ann was the first to look up and notice the boys.

"About time you guys got up here." She said. The others turned to them.

"Was the arcade really that fun to spend 2 hours down there?" Makoto asked. Ryuji shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, can't deny a guy's pleasures." He said.

"Isn't that said for girls though?" Haru asked. Ryuji shook his head.

"Ah forget it." He said. He flopped down on the bed near him. Morgana started shifting around in the bag so Akira put it down and opened it. He quickly sprang out of it, slightly groomed himself and then jumped on top of the bed.

"We also had an encounter with a strange girl." He said. Makoto closed her book.

"Strange? You got a description, maybe?" She asked.

"Well, I didn't really see her since I was in the bag, but she was like in a rush." Morgana replied.

"She cut in front of a line of people at the elevators. She seemed really late for something." Akira added in.

"She was nice though. She was kinda pretty too." Ryuji said. Everyone turned to him in surprise.

"That's rare coming from you." Yusuke said. Ryuji let out a groan.

"Are you able to describe this pretty girl, Ryuji?" Makoto asked.

"Uh, long black hair, tall, blue eyes, slim..." He said.

"Wow, you got all that and you just met her?" Akira joked. Ryuji lightly kick his side.

"Wait a minute..." Yuske said. He looked through his phone for a bit. He then brought up a picture of a girl and showed it to Ryuji. "Was this her?" Ryuji looked at it closely.

"Yeah, that's her." He said. Yusuke's face changed and his eyes widened.

"I can't believe you spoke with Lady Aisaka!" He said.

"He WHAT?!" Makoto yelled.

"Niijima-san, we have thin walls here!" Haru said. Makoto covered her mouth.

"Wait, you mean that singer you guys wanted to see?" Akira asked.

"Wow. That's awesome, especially for you Ryuji." Futaba said. Ryuji gave a confused look.

"What are you guys getting so worked up about? It's not a big deal." He said.

"How is it not?" Ann asked. "I mean, imagine if it was one of the people you looked up to Ryuji. Wouldn't you be freaking out?"

"I mean, I guess you gotta point there." He said. He layed down on the bed, letting out a long sigh. Morgana jumped onto his chest; Ryuji didn't even flinch.

"Huh. Never seen you this calm before. I'd expect you to swat me away." Morgana said. Ryuji slightly shrugged his shoulders. Akira sat down next to Makoto. She lightly tapped his shoulder. She beckoned him closer and went up to his ear.

"Did you notice the look?" She whispered. Akira was confused. She tilted her head toward Ryuji's direction. He turned to see him slightly smiling. Akira was surprised. He's never seen him this calm. He turned back to Makoto, who had a smirk on her face. "Something tells me Lady Aisaka got to him." Akira let out a scoff.

"You really think so? I mean, this is Ryuji." He said. Before she could speak again, there was a knock at the door.

"Are you guys expecting someone?" Yusuke asked. Everybody shook their heads. Yusuke got up and answered it. It was a lady who worked at the hotel.

"Hello. I believe Ryuji Sakamato is staying in this room?" She asked. Ryuji looked up from where he was laying. Morgana got off just in case he was going to move.

"Uh, yes. May I ask what this is for?" Yusuke asked. The woman gave him an envelope.

"He has a letter. Please make sure he reads it." She said. Yusuke took it, thanked the woman and closed the door. He walked over to the Ryuji and tossed it to him.

"It's for you." He said. Ryuji sat up.

"Yeah, I heard." He said. He look at it for a second. His eyes slightly widened when he read the front. "Oh shit." He said softly. Morgana hopped onto his shoulder and again, he didn't flinch.

"Oh wow. I can't believe this." He said. The whole gang crowded around him. Makoto let out a gasp.

"Oh my God, are you serious?" Haru said.

"It's from Lady Aisaka!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Wow, Ryuji, you really surprise me. You left an impact on Lady Aisaka herself." Morgana said. Ryuji gave him a look.

"Open it already!" Futaba said shaking him. Ryuji groaned. He opened the envelope and took out the letter. When he unfolded it, the gang inched closer to it. Ryuji looked at all of them weirdly.

"Do you people know of personal space?" He said.

"Just read it Ryuji!" Morgana shouted. He groaned again and looked at the letter.

 _"Ryuji Sakamato, I hope I'm not imposing on you, but I don't like the way I left things."_ He read. _"As both a thank you for your kindness and a formal apology, I'd like to invite you and your friend, Akira, to join me for dinner tomorrow at the Sea's Crown Restaraunt at 1600 tomorrow. If you can't make it, I understand, but I would deeply appreciate it if you did."_

"She invited you guys to dinner? Wow, this is so cool!" Ann said.

"Hey, there's a P.S. there." Morgana said. Ryuji looked at the letter again.

 _"P.S. please wear nice attire. I hope that's not too much trouble. Hope to see you there, Hiamri Aisaka."_ He read. "Ah man, we have to dress nice?"

"It'd be nice, for once." Ann said. Morgana laughed at that.

"I cannot believe Lady Aisaka asked you two to dinner! This is amazing!" Yusuke said.

"We've so gotta go shopping. We need to get you guys some nice clothes and a new cologne." Haru said.

"New cologne? Why do we need that?" Akira asked.

"Akira, you're going to meet Lady Aisaka. I mean, maybe you could pass without the cologne but not this guy." Makoto said, pointing at Ryuji.

"Oh, I'll second that." Morgana said.

"Ok, I had about enough of you, cat! Get off before I put you in the tub!" Ryuji said. Morgana immediately jumped off his shoulder. "And guys, seriously, I wouldn't be caught dead smelling like that Jean Paul guy."

"You know Jean Paul Gaultier?" Makoto asked.

"He's been nothing but surprises today." Yusuke said. Ryuji got up from the bed.

"Come on Ryuji, it's just one day. It won't be the end of the world." Akira said.

"Maybe not for you, but it will be for me." Ryuji retorted.

"Well, you're not going to miss dinner with Lady Aisaka. That would be very rude." Yusuke said.

"Whatever. I don't see why she's making a big deal about it. It was just a misunderstanding." He started to walk off but then Ann got up and grabbed his ear. Ryuji groaned at this.

"Whether it was or not, you're not missing this dinner!" She yelled. She pulled him to thew him to the ground.

"Jeez, what the hell Ann?!" He shouted, rubbing his ear.

"Takamaki-san is right." Yusuke said. "You're not going to weasel out of this one, Ryuji. We're all going to make sure of it." Ryuji scoffed. He was about to get up when someone pushed him back down. He looked up to see the gang crowding around him. Akira was holding him down by the shoulders.

"You serious, man?" He said. Akira gave him an evil smirk. He then looked up to Futaba

"You take the legs, I take the hands?" He said. Ryuji's eyes widened as he looked over at Futaba. She gave him a grin as she rubbed her hands together.

"Oh, hell yeah. Get your ass ready Ryuji!" She said. She grabbed his ankles and pulled him up.

"Where the hell do you get this strength?!" Ryuji said. Akira then lifted his hands up.

"I got his torso!" Ann said.

"I'll help!" Yusuke joined in. They both lifted his torso up.

"You know, for someone who works out, you're very light, Ryuji." Ann said.

"Shut up!" He yelled. "And put me down! Put me down n-" Haru suddenly stuffed something in his mouth.

"Well, that took care of that." She said.

"Ok guys, lets take him down to the shops. We've got some shopping to do!" Ann said. Everyone started dragging him out the door as Ryuji kicked and screamed as best he could.

* * *

"You guys think we went too far?" Makoto asked. Everyone was sitting on the bed together while Ryuji was by himself on the balcony. They were able to get through the shopping alright, agreeing to buy just a plain white dress shirt, black jeans and converse that matched for Ryuji. He was annoyed with them the whole time though. He barely spoke to them when they were in the shops and when they got back he just went off to the balcony alone.

"Oh don't worry. This is Ryuji. He'll be fine by morning." Morgana said as he groomed himself.

"Though I would say the scene we made of him here might be the reason he's annoyed with us." Yusuke said. "I wouldn't blame him. We did go a little overboard."

"He wouldn't have come if we didn't do anything." Ann said.

"I'd have to agree with Yusuke. We were being a little immature." Futaba said.

"Says the girl who was holding up his legs." Akira said. Futaba shot him a glare and smacked his head.

"Like you're one to talk! You're the one who suggested the plan!" She replied. Akira chuckled as he rubbed his head.

"Maybe we should check up on him. He's been out there for a while." Makoto said. Haru then jumped off the bed.

"I'll go. Be right back." She said. She walked over to the balcony.

"It still amazes me how you guys got to have dinner with Lady Aisaka." Yusuke said.

"Hey, I don't know much about this girl. Who is she?" Morgana asked.

"She's a famous singer and violinist." Makota said. "She started when she only 7 and she'a become big ever since."

"She wrote her own songs, did a fashion shoot, sold merchandise and her own perfume, she's got it all, really." Ann said.

"Wow. Is she really that talented?" Morgana asked.

"Oh yes. She's beyond talented." Yusuke replied. "It's amazing that she's been in the spotlight these past eleven years!" Morgana then perked up.

"Whoa! Eleven years? That's amazing!" He said. Just then, Haru came back in the room.

"You guys, he's asleep!" She said. Everyone sat up in surprise.

"Huh?" Ann said.

"I went out and it seems he's fallen asleep on the seats outside!" Haru explained. Akira got up from the bed.

"Are you serious?" He said. Haru turned back toward the balcony.

"Here, come see!" She said. Everyone got up and followed. They made it over to the balcony to see Ryuji asleep on the reclined seat.

"How can he sleep out here?" Futaba whispered.

"I mean, it's not that hard Futaba. He is sorta laying down, so that helps." Ann said. They quietly stepped toward Ryuji, careful to not make a sound. He had his head leaning to the left and he also had his left hand resting on his stomach. It wasn't flat though as it looked like he was clutching something in it.

"Aw, he's such a baby! He sleeps with something!" Haru whispered.

"Haha, that's funny coming from him." Morgana said. He suddenly jumped on the the armrests of the chair. Akira stepped closer to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" He whispered.

"I want to see what he has." Morgana said. Yusuke then stepped next to Akira.

"Are you insane? You'll wake him!" He whispered. Morgana rolled his eyes.

"So what? It's not like he could do anything to hurt me, even if he tried." Morgana said. He was about to reach for the hand when he heard Ryuji groan and started to move. Everyone either backed away or stood wide-eyed. Morgana froze immediately, hopeing he didn't wake up. Thankfully, he didn't.

"Morgana, just leave him alone! Let him sleep. We owe to him after what we did today." Makoto whispered. Morgan looked back and forth between Makoto and Ryuji. He let out a small groan and jumped down from the armrest.

"Fine, but I will find out what it is!" He said. Everyone let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's just get inside." Haru said.

"Wait, are we going to leave him here the rest of the night?" Futaba asked.

"He'll wake up eventually." Ann said.

"But what if he doesn't?" Yusuke asked.

"I don't think he'd care. It's not the first time he's fallen asleep outside." Ann said. Everyone gave her a confused look.

"What? When has he ever?" Akira asked. Ann looked him for a second and then back at Ryuji. Akira noticed she looked a little sad.

"I shouldn't say more. It's kinda personal to him. If you guys want to know, ask him yourselves." She replied. Akira looked back at Ryuji. A thought had just occured to him when Ann said that. Did this involve his past somehow?

"We should get to sleep too. It's getting pretty late." Makoto said. Everyone agreed and slowly went back inside. Akira was about to when he noticed Morgana was still looking at Ryuji.

"Morgana?" He said. Morgana looked up him. He walked up to Akira with a worried face.

"What Lady Ann said kinda got me thinking." He said. Akira looked down before nodding.

"Yeah, me too." He said.

"You think he'll be ok?" Morgana asked. Akira gave him a small smile.

"Yeah. It's Ryuji, for crying out loud." He said. Morgana gave a face that looked like a smile. They both went inside with the others and slept for the rest of the night.

 ** _*in case you guys are wondering where Akechi is, if you played the game, then you know why he isnt here. i hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. dont worry, youll see more of Himari as it progresses. thx for reading! please review so i can hear your thoughts! =D_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_*wow, i did not expect to get comments so soon! you guys really seem to like this story. im glad! thx for that!(BTW FilleDeZombie, my favorite girl is Makoto)*_**

 **Chapter 2 Meeting**

"Seriously, you guys are the worst." Ryuji mumbled. He tugged his collar, which was completely buttoned up. He's been iching to button it down but everyone kept telling him not to, saying it was "proper." At least they got him a white shirt with rolled up sleaves.

"Just be glad I was able to convince Morgana not to come. That would make this harder for you." Akria said.

"Why would he even want to come? She asked for you and me only." Ryuji said. He let a sigh. He played with the ground a little with his foot. They've been waiting outside the restaurant for a couple of minutes for Lady Aisaka.

"I think he was worried how you were going to act with her. I mean, you did yell at her went we met." Akira said.

"How was I supposed to know it was her? I said it was a misunderstanding!" Ryuji said angrily.

"Would you calm down? I was just joking." Akira said. "Why are you getting worked up anyway? Is it because of yesterday?" Ryuji let out a sigh.

"Nah man, I wouldn't get hung up on something like that." He said.

"You spent the night outside though. Are you sure you're alright?" Akira asked. Ryuji was silent for a second. There was slight hesitation in his eyes but he quickly smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." He said. Akira could tell it was fake but he didn't want to press the matter, especially since they were meeting her today. They didn't talk afterwards, silently looking at the line of people entering the restaraunt for any sign of Lady Aisaka. She didn't tell them how she was going so they had to rely on a picture they found on the internet. Well, Akira did since Ryuji claimed he knew what she looked like. Ryuji let out another sigh as he played with the ground some more. For some reason, he was feeling anxious and nervous. He was at first annoyed about even coming here but now it felt like his nerves were on fire.

"Oh, you came!" He suddenly heard. He looked up to see her there. He felt his heart stop. She had a cute black off-shoulder dress with matching high heels. She had her long hair curled, which made it look shorter than it was before. He suddenly felt a nudge to his shoulder. It took a little bit for him to finally turn to Akira.

"Dude, you're gawking." He said. Ryuji looked back at her a little wide eyed.

"Oh shit." He said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't-" Before he could finish, she gave him a warm smile and started shaking her head.

"Please, don't apologize. It's fine." She said. "I may have come a little overdressed, to be honest." She looked down at herself.

"No way, you look beautiful!" Ryuji blurted out. Both Akira and Himari looked at him surprised. He went wide eyed again and his face started turning red. "Oh crap." Akira fought the urge to laugh by turning away.

"Thank you. That's really sweet." Himari said. Ryuji started grabbing his face and moved down to his collar.

"Can we just go inside? I'm getting hot." He said. Himari covered her mouth to stop her laughing. She motioned them to follow her as they awkwardly made their way into the restaraunt.

Himari was able to get a reservation for all three of them and it was luckily a seafood restaraunt. Ryuji was still uncomfortable with what happened outside so the first few minutes was them quietly looking through the menus for their meals. When they finally ordered, they sat there for a little bit before Himari spoke first.

"I really appreciate you guys coming. I honestly didn't expect you to come at all." She said.

"Why wouldn't we? It's only polite for us to come with you." Akira said.

"Thank you. I'm glad you didn't say it was an honor." She said. Both Akira and Ryuji gave her a confused look.

"Why do you say that?" Ryuji asked.

"Well, you hear throughout your life, you get tired of hearing it." She said. "I don't mind it but it's just become sorta overused. You get what I mean, right?" Both guys nodded. Their drinks arrived after that.

"Why are you at the hotel? Is there a special occasion?" Himari asked. The two boys exchanged looks for a second before answering.

"Well, it's summer vacation so Ryuji, my friends and I decided to do something fun this time. We all had some money saved up so we decided to come here." Akira said.

"Friends? How many?"

"Including us two, it's seven." Ryuji replied.

"Wow! You guys must have lots of fun together." She said. She took a sip of her drink but held up her finger. When she finished, she spoke again, "By any chance, are you guys coming to the show?"

"Yeah, that's actually another reason we're here." Akira said. Himari beamed at that and started digging her purse.

"Great! I'm glad I actually brought enough." She said. The guys shot glances at each other. She then brought out several wrapped tags and held them out to them. "Consider these my thank you to you guys." Ryuji took one to look at while Akira took. the rest.

"Holy- these are V.I.P. passes!" He exclaimed. Akira looked down at the tags. "Are you for real?!" Himari let out a giggle.

"Yep. Not only do you get the best seats in the house, you also get to come backstage and to a special afterparty I put together." She said.

"Wow. Don't you think it's a bit much?" Akira asked.

"No." Ryuji and Himari said at the same time. They looked at each other for a second before laughing nervously.

"It's really not a a big deal." Himari said. "My mother always lets me give out the V.I.P. tags to anyone I want. Plus, I really want to meet the rest of your friends."

"Oh, they're gonna go nuts over these." Ryuji says. "Especially Yusuke and Makoto."

"Oh? Are they fans?" Himari asked.

"Yeah, they're the ones who suggest it in the first place." Akira said. Himari smiled greatly. It was then the waiter came with their food.

"Ah, finally! I'm starving." Himari said. Ryuji looked at her when she said that. She didn't notice as she was looking her food. He suddenly found himself smiling. He looked over Akira.

"Why am I so happy?" He asked.

"Um, your food's here." Akira said.

"No, I mean, I just don't know why I'm suddenly smiling. What the hell is up with me?" Ryuji said. Akira look at him and back at Himari. He exchanged the glances a few more times before letting out a grin.

"Wow, you've really got it this time, buddy." He said. Ryuji gave him a confused look. It was then the waiters set their food down and left. "Just eat. You'll probably get it afterwards." Ryuji gave him a scoff but started to dig into his food. The three of them barely spoke when they ate, only giving compliments about the food. During that time, Akira noticed that Ryuji seemed to glance a lot at Himari. He thought it was weird how calm Ryuji was yesterday and how Makoto thought it might be because of Himari. Now, he could see it clear as day. He chuckled at the thought. It might take a while for Ryuji himself to even realize it. They finally finished their meals. Himari asked if they wanted dessert. At first, they refused but then they thought they might as well bring something back to the others. She didn't mind at all and ordered them the cake special.

"Thanks for all this, Lady Aisaka. It was a real pleasure." Akira said.

"Oh, please, the pleasure's all mine. And call me Himari, please." She said.

"You sure? You fine by us calling you by your real name?" Ryuji asked.

"Of course. I prefer for people to call me that." She said. Ryuji found this strange. First it was how she seemed like a normal girl and now, she preferred people to call her by her first name. He shrugged it off though, maybe he was thinking too much. Their dessert finally came in and Himari had to go back to her mother.

"This was great. We can't wait to come to your show." Akira said.

"I'll be waiting patiently for you guys." She said. Akira was about to walk off when he noticed Ryuji wasn't following. "Ryuji?"

"You go on ahead. I'm gonna be here a minute." He said. Akira shot a glance at Himari and smiled. He gave him a small nod and walked off. Ryuji then turned back to Himari. He felt his heart beat against his chest, which was making him a little nervous.

"Hey, I know I already said this and all, but I just wanted to really apologize for yelling at you yesterday." He said. "You were clearly stressed or something so it was really mean of me to yell at you for that." Himari gave him a warm smile.

"It's ok Ryuji and thanks for being understanding. I really appreciate it." She said. "Every time one of my shows gets close, I feel stressed. Everything seems to fall apart at the last minute." She laughed. "Listen to me, making excuses."

"Hey, don't say that. I know how you feel. I always felt that way when I had track meets at school." He said.

"Oh, you run track?" She said. Ryuji looked down at his leg. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I used to, but then I broke my leg and it all went to shit." He said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She said.

"Nah, it's fine. It's all in the past now." He said.

"But don't you miss it?" She asked. He saw interest in her eyes in the moment. It kinda made him wonder why.

"Well, sometimes, yeah, but what's done is done. I'm just lucky enough to have some great friends. I hardly think about it anymore." He replied. He saw her look down. He also noticed she hugged her arms a little.

"I see." She said in a soft tone. "You are lucky, Ryuji." He felt it was weird for her to say that. Why would a famous singer who seems to have everything say something like that?

"Are you ok?" He asked. She looked up at him. She chuckled at little.

"Yeah, it's just..." She trailed off as she let out a sigh. "I never really thought of something like that. I've never really had any real friends." Ryuji was a little surprised. It's hard to imagine someone his age not have any friends, but he had to remind himself that she was a famous star so it might be different for her. He looked back in the direction of the hotel.

"I should go. I'm sure they're all waiting for me." He said. "I can't wait to see your show. I've never heard you before so it'll be a first for me." She looked up and gave him a smile.

"Well, I hope you enjoy it." She said. "Bye Ryuji." She waved at him. He returned the wave and made his way to the hotel. A little while in, he found himself looking back. She was on the phone, seemingly calling for her ride. He let out a smile as he turned and continued walking.

* * *

"So he didn't screw it up?" Morgana asked. Ryuji let out a groan as he layed back the bed and covered his face. Ever since he got back, the only questions they've asked was how did it go and if he screwed the dinner up.

"For the last effin' time, no you stupid cat!" He said.

"Do you want me to scratch you?" Morgana threatened.

"Go ahead, do your worst!" Ryuji dared. Morgana was about to pounce when he was suddenly grabbed by Futaba.

"Hey! Let me go!" He said as he tried to wiggle free.

"It's pretty amazing Ryuji managed to survive this dinner." Futaba said.

"Yeah, let alone not scare her away." Yusuke added.

"Hey, I'm not the only one that's done that, you know!" Ryuji said. Haru laughed at that.

"You guys can be so mean, you know. I'm sure Ryuji can handle a dinner." She said.

"Well, sorry Haru, but you haven't known him as long as we have." Ann said.

"Can you guys just shut up already?" Ryuji said. Akira sat down next to him.

"Come on guys, give him a break. He did really well today. Plus, it seems him and Himari really hit it off." He said.

"You call her by her first name?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah, she said we could." Akira said.

"So, how was she Ryuji?" Yusuke asked. Ryuji looked at him weirdly.

"Why you asking me? Akira was there too." He replied.

"He claimed you two hit it off so you must know more. Also, you seem quite smitten with her." Yusuke said. Ryuji immediately sat up at that.

"That is so not true!" He said.

"Come on, Ryuji. Akira already told us about how you were basically drooling when you first saw her." Ann said. Ryuji gave Akira a glare.

"You cannot blame anyone but yourself, Ryuji." Akira said with a smug face. Ryuji shoved him a little.

"Why don't you just tell us, Ryuji? What have you got to lose?" Futaba said. Ryuji let out a sigh.

"Fine." He groaned. Everybody inched closer. "She was like a regular teenage girl. She was nice, she was funny, and she had quite an appetite." He chuckled at that. Akira smiled at this. "She was really understanding for everything, even after the complete idiot I made of myself in the beginning." He heard slight giggles from Ann and Futaba but he ignored them. He suddenly thought back at what she said at the end. "There was something... weird though. When I brought up what happened in track and said how lucky I was to have you guys, she said she never thought of something like I do and how she's never had any real friends. I don't know if it was just me, but she seemed sorta... envious." Everyone was silent after that. They seemed deep in thought for a second.

"You know, being in the Phantom Thieves, it's really shown that no matter how people act or how they live, everybody's got their demons." Morgana said. "Maybe she's not as happy as everyone thinks she is."

"She has been doing this for eleven years. You think she'd get tired of it?" Ann asked.

"If that were the case, why doesn't she just leave?" Haru asked.

"Maybe she can't. Maybe she's still waiting for the right time. She's still rather young." Makoto said.

"What of her mother? Did she say anything about her?" Yusuke asked. Both Akira and Ryuji shook their heads.

"She didn't really say anything about her mother." Akira said.

"Do you guys really think something could be going on with Himari?" Ann asked.

"We don't have much to go on, but we can't deny that something is definetly off." Morgana said. The group sat there in silence for a bit, thinking over what they had just discussed. Neither of them really spoke to each other afterwards. It was almost time to sleep by the time they were done anyway. After everyone washed up and changed, they all went to their rooms. The suite only had two bedrooms with two beds in each. Yusuke ended up getting a bed all to himself since nobody was willing to share one with him. Ann and Futaba shared a bed, Makoto and Haru shared another, and Akira, Ryuji and Morgana shared one. Of course, Ryuji and Morgana ended up fighting over the amount of bed before Akira finally made them compromise by having Morgana sleep on the outermost end of the bed.

"You two seriously need to chill." Akira said to Ryuji.

"Shaddup!" He replied. "He's a cat. Why should he have most of the bed?"

"Just leave it alone." Akira said.

"You brought it up." Ryuji retorted. They layed in silence for a bit. Akira thought back to the other night and whay Ann said. He really wanted to know about it but who knows if Ryuji wants to talk about it.

"Hey, Ryuji." He said. He saw Ryuji look at him. "Ann mentioned something yesterday when you fell asleep outside." Ryuji then shifted his body to Akira's direction. "She said it's not the first time you've slept outside." Ryuji looked away from him and let out a sigh.

"Everyone was there, right?" Ryuji asked. Akira nodded. "It'd be better if I told all of you... when I'm ready." Akira again nodded.

"Hey, if you ever need to talk to anyone, I'm right here." He said. He saw Ryuji smile.

"Thanks man." He said. Both guys then turned in for the night. Before he fell asleep, Ryuji found himself thinking about Himari again. He found it strange how he kept thinking about her. Why? What was about her that had him so interested? Why was he interested? Just... why?

 ** _thx so much for the support. you have no happy it makes me to see people enjoy my stories, especially this one. i hope you guys stay till the end. thx again everybody! =D_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3** **What You Became**

The amount of passion Yusuke had for anything never ceased to amaze Ryuji... or disturb. Ever since they showed them the V.I.P. passes, he's been all over the place, waiting for the night. Makoto had the dignity to hold herself in place but it seemed Yusuke still hadn't learned to do that. The whole team had been preparing for the night, even turning the tables on Futaba who was more than unwilling to go. Of course, since the whole team was all going, they couldn't leave anyone behind so Futaba didn't have anything to argue for.

"How does it feel Futaba?" Ryuji said, smirking. Futaba crossed her arms and made a pouty face. They had to go shop for a dress for her and they may or may not have done what they did to Ryuji in a sort of fashion.

"Shut up punk!" She mumbled. Ryuji snickered.

"Ryuji, what did we agree on?" Makoto said. Ryuji turned away from Futaba but still kept the smile on his face. Makoto made Ryuji promise to not rub what happened to Futaba anymore, but he wasted no time to do it. They were all waiting with a crowd of people. The show was being performed at the hotel's theater and now they just had to wait for the doors to open.

"You really expect Ryuji to keep his promise, Makoto?" Morgana said through the closed bag.

"Don't talk cat! You want to get us in trouble?" Ryuji said.

"Why don't you both shut up?" Ann said. Ryuji scoffed and leaned against the wall.

"Why can't any of us just act like respectable young men and women? Is it really that hard for us?" Yusuke groaned.

"I guess since we're together, that's not really an option for us." Haru said.

"What's that supposed to mean, Haru?" Makoto asked.

"Well, you know what they say, the more there is, the more trouble there will be." Akira stepped in.

"I guess that's true." Makoto said. Ryuji groaned softly.

"When are these doors gonna open? We've been waiting for almost an hour." Ryuji said.

"Well, someone seems anxious." Akira said. Ryuji gave him a sharp look.

"Don't you start." He said. Akira laughed.

"Ryuji, don't be ashamed. It's fine to be attracted to someone." Haru said. Ryuji then started turning red. Everyone started laughing.

"Shaddup will ya!" He shouted. He turned away from the whole group as they kept laughing. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He thought though, was he really attracted to Himari? He barely knows her so why does he think of her that way? For once, he wished he wasn't so dimwitted so he could answer this.

"Ah, speak of the devil." Akira said. Ryuji looked to see the doors finally opening. The group followed in line with the crowd, showed their tags and were taken to a seperate section from the others. They soon arrived to a booth of seats that was high up and had a perfect bird's eye view of the stage.

"Whoa! They weren't kidding when they said best seats in the house!" Futaba exclaimed.

"I would've never imagined us getting these seats. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Yusuke said. He held his hands up in a square and looked at the stage.

"This is the best reward we've ever had. I hope I'm not dreaming." Ann said

"You want me to pinch you?" Makoto asked. Ann quickly shook her head. Ryuji sat down on the seat nearest to the edge. He looked out at the audience. Everyone was crowding into their seats, slowly filling in every row.

"Wow. Looks like it's a full house." He said. Akira sat down next to him and followed his gaze. He felt his eyes widen when it was soon moving up to the back row and the upper floor.

"Yeah, no kidding." He said. His bag suddenly started moving. He opened the zipper and Morgana poked himself out.

"Finally. I was starting to cramp up in there." He said.

"You better keep it down, Morgana. Who knows what they'll do if they find out a cat is up here." Akira said. Haru then picked Morgana and sat down next to Akira.

"Can you see alright from here?" She asked. Morgana moved himself slightly before he settled down.

"Yep." He replied. The others sat down in their seats, silently conversing amongst each other as they waited for the show to begin. Soon, the lights switched off and in the spotlight there was a woman standing at the stage. She looked a lot like Himari but older and her hair was shorter.

"Hello." She said. "And welcome to the show everyone!" The crowd started clapping and so did the gang. The lady put her hand up and the clapping ceased. "I'm glad that so many people have come. You have no idea how it feels to see this many people in one room, all listening to one person spread her talent and passion for music. And nothing makes me prouder than the fact that she is my daughter. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Himari Aisaka. Enjoy." She walked off as the crowd again started applauding. The applause increased as the curtain parted to reveal Hiamri, standing in the center, smiling greatly. She had on a beauiful white dress that went all the way down to the ground. It was fitted with glitter and rhinestones all over, making it glisten in the spotlight. Her black curled hair had some visable glitter in it and a hairpiece on the left side of her hair that matched her dress.

"Oh my God, she's gorgeous!" Ann said.

"I think I'll go blind with those gems!" Futaba said.

"Mrrrrrow!" Morgana let out. Akira was as stunned as anyone would be. He was speechless and all he could do was clap. He looked over at Ryuji, who was on a whole other level. His mouth was slightly ajar as he simply stared at the stage. He was so shocked he wasn't even clapping. Akira silently chuckled at himself. The applause again ceased when Himari let out a bow.

"Before I begin the first song," She said. "I just want to be clear that it won't be in Japanese. This song I wrote when I was in France and I was really moved by the language that I wrote it in French. I know you won't be able to understand it, but music is music. No matter what language it's in, anyone who is willing to listen will be moved by the music itself. I hope you enjoy." The whole theater fell silent before there was an audible breath from Himari. The piano then started with its short interlude and then Himari started to sing. Her voice sounded very mature, more like how an adult would sing. It was both soothing yet fierce. The musicality showing in her voice alone was enough to fill the room with chills.

That's how Ryuji felt. He was absolutely struck by her voice. He had no idea what she was saying but that didn't stop him from being in awe with her voice. He's never heard anyone sing this beautiful before. Granted, he doesn't listen to much music before but this was just beyond description for him. The fierceness in her voice increased when she was reaching the last chorus and this made a chill go up his spin. The song was soon over and everyone did a small applause while the next song was coming up. Ryuji forgot to clap as he was still wrapped by what he just heard. He felt a soft nudge to his right, making him turn.

"Amazing, wasn't she?" Akira asked. The piano started playing for the next song. Ryuji turned back to Himari who about to sing again.

"Yeah." He replied. "Amazing." Akira smiled as he saw him gaze at Himari. _He's so into her._ He thought.

* * *

She performed four more songs before the concert finally ended. She got a standing ovation from everyone in the room, especially from the group. Ryuji was able to gather himself enough to stand up witht he others but he was clapping slowly as he was too busy staring at Himari as she waved and thanked the audience before the curtain closed. The group was then led backstage to a door marked with her name. The group was told to wait for her to change so she could take them to the afterparty.

"Wow. Just... wow." Morgana said. "I cannot believe what my ears just heard."

"Me either." Futaba said. "That was just way more than I could have expected from anyone."

"Well, look who had a change of heart." Akira said. Everyone looked him with a surprised look. He gave them a smirk, as if taking pride in what he just said.

"She never ceases to amaze me." Yusuke said.

"I'll second that." Makoto added.

"So do I." Ann said.

"She was beyond incredible." Haru said. Everyone noticed one member hasn't said anything. They turned to Ryuji, who didn't even seem to notice them. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts with a small smile on his face.

"Ooooooh, someone seems to be in looooove." Futaba said. Ryuji still payed no mind. It's as if everything just went through him.

"Guys, I think she broke him." Ann said, giggling. She walked over and waved her hands in front of his face. It was then when he finally snapped out of his trance.

"W-what the hell?" He exclaimed.

"You're daydreaming." Haru said in sing-y voice. Ryuji blinked as he ruffled his hair.

"You ok? You've been like this ever since she started singing." Akira said. Ryuji covered his eyes with his hand as he sighed.

"I've never heard someone sing like that." He said. "I honestly have no words."

"Cat got your tongue, Ryuji?" Yusuke chuckled. The team chuckled along with him. Ryuji let out another sigh as he he turned away from the group.

"We can be so mean to him, you know." Akira said.

"We're friends. It's the reason we are mean to each other." Ann said.

"Though that would be ill advised, if you want to keep them." They all heard. They turned to see her standing outside of the dressing room. "Hi everybody!"

"Oh, Lady Aisaka!" Yusuke said. He bowed down to her. "Your performance was incredible."

"It was beyond that! I just couldn't believe it!" Futaba jumped in.

"Guys, calm down!" Makoto said. There was a laugh from Himari.

"Oh, please don't be like that. And call me Himari, I insist." She said. She clapped her hands together. "So, are you all ready to get this party started?"

"Oh, yes. We've been so excited." Haru said.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Ann said. Himari then checked her phone for a second. She smiled as she faced them.

"Great. Our ride's here so let's go." She said. She walked off as the others followed. When they got outside, there were tons of people waiting there, flashing cameras and trying to get her autograph. She whispered over to one of the guards and they stepped up to the group. They ushered them to follow them to the end of the line. They soon came to view a huge limo parked on the road. They didn't have time to stare as they were told to get inside quickly. They squeezed in as best they could even though there was more than enough room.

"Wow. I never would've anticipated this." Yusuke said.

"I've never been in a limo before. This is just too much." Futaba said.

"That's nothin'. Did you see how many people were out there? They could've smothered us!" Ryuji said.

"Guess it was good for Himari to get us here first." Akira said.

"She's so considerate. For someone who is a huge star, she's so normal." Ann said.

"Just because someone is famous doesn't mean they're not normal." Makoto said.

"Yeah. I mean, look at us. We may be famous but we're just normal teenagers." Ryuji said.

"I think normal might be a stretch, giving what we really do." Morgana poked his head out of the bag. It was then Himari walked into the limo and closed the door. She let out a heavy sigh.

"Man. I love them but it can be a real pain when there's so many." She said. She suddenly looked at Akira's bag. "Oh, who's this?"

"Oh, this is my pet cat. I hope it's ok for him to come." Akira said.

"I'm not your-" Morgana was suddenly interrupted when Himari started rubbing underneath his jaw.

"Of course he can! How can I resist this cutie?" She said. Morgana then let out a loud purr. The limo then started to move.

"Hey Himari, where are we going?" Ryuji asked. She looked at him and smiled.

"Party's at my house, boy." She said with a smirk.

"We're going to your house?!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Don't be surprised. I wanted to make it the best so the only place I thought of was my sweet pad." She said. "Plus, no one will disturb us." Everyone looked at each other. "Just wait. I'll make it worth your while."

* * *

The house looked like a mansion to the others. They have never seen a house this big. Even when they were inside, all they could do was look around. Himari didn't mind. She was mostly laughing at how surprised they were. After she gave them a tour and they had time to gawk around, they went over to a massive party room where they danced, ate and had the time of their lives. They stayed there so late that they didn't want to go back to the hotel. Himari was kind enough to allow them to sleepover. They tried to resist but she didn't back down at all so they took it. They all got seperate rooms but they spent the last few hours in one room, talking and telling stories.

"I told you guys not to laugh at me!" Ann exclaimed. She hit Ryuji on the head.

"Why did you only hit me? Akira and Yusuke are laughing too!" He said.

"'Cause you're the one I've known the longest." Ann said.

"That is such bullshit!" He said. Himari laughed as so did the others. Ryuji's face was turning redder by the second.

"You guys have the funniest stories! Your lives sound like so much fun!" Himari said.

"Fun? What's fun about having your hair all sticky because some punks hated the color?" Ann asked.

"I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think of that." Himari replied.

"Have you never had things like this happen to you, Himari?" Haru asked. Himari's face changed from happy to surprised. She looked down at the floor for a second.

"Um, I wouldn't say that I've never had anything like that happen to me, I just..." She trailed off as she started fidgeting. Her eyes darted all over the place and she started rubbing her hands together.

"Are you alright?" Makoto asked. Himari quickly nodded her head.

"I'm fine." She replied. She let out a breath that sounded shaky. Ryuji felt like this was somehow familiar. "Can I ask you guys something?"

"Yeah, anything." Akira said. Everyone had somewhat concerned looks on her faces.

"Would you consider me as a friend?" She asked. Everyone looked at each other. None of them expect this from her. "I know it's weird since I just met most of you but I've never had something like this with anyone. I'd like to think of you as my friends but I'm not sure if it's ok with you guys." Everyone was taken back by this. Neither of them answered as they stood there in an awkward silence. Ryuji then stepped up to her.

"Well, if these guys won't say anything, I'd like to think of you as a friend, Himari." He said. Himari's eyes widened.

"Are you serious, Ryuji?" She said.

"I'm all for it!" He said smiling.

"Me too." Akira said. Himari still looked surprised.

"I'd be honored, Himari." Yusuke said.

"The more the merrier." Futaba added.

"You think I'd pass being friends with my idol? You must be crazy." Makoto said.

"Count me in too!" Haru jumped in. Himari looked at each of them, stunned. Her face then formed into a smile. It was then she then ran up and gave Ryuji a hug. He stood there, frozen. Akira covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Thank you, Ryuji." She whispered. Ryuji started feeling hot and his body felt tense. He finally returned the hug but he still just couldn't believe it.

"Don't just thank me." He said. She broke out of the hug and looked at the others.

"Thank you, guys. You have no idea how this makes me feel." She said. Everyone smiled at her. Her phone started to vibrate all the sudden. She checked it before she looked back at the group. "Sorry, but it seems I have some last minute things to do. You may do what you want until you sleep. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have." She gave everybody a warm smile. They told each other good night before she left them alone in the room. They all stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"I guess I'll be the first to say that was weird." Morgana said.

"I'd have to agree. She brought that out of the blue and it was quite strange." Yusuke said.

"She also started acting weird before she said that. Did anyone else notice how uncomfortable she got?" Ann asked. Everyone nodded with her.

"Oh, I hope I didn't make her feel bad by bringing that up." Haru said.

"I'm sure it wasn't you, Haru." Makoto said. "But this does sort of confirm what we talked about a few nights ago."

"You guys really think something is happening here?" Akira asked.

"It would explain her sudden weird change of attitude." Morgana said. "We just need to find out what is going on." Ryuji was deep in thought. He felt like the way Himari was acting was familiar to him and even like he's felt like that before.

"You ok, Ryuji?" Futaba asked. He looked at everyone.

"I just... I feel like this is sorta familiar to me." He said.

"What do you mean?" Akira asked.

"I don't know. I just somehow get how she feels and how she thinks. It's like I've felt that way before." Ryuji replied. Everyone thought for a second.

"Maybe we should give this more thought tomorrow when we have our heads clear." Makoto said. Futaba stretched her arms.

"Agreed. I think better after I've slept." She said. They all told each other good night and headed off to their rooms. When Akira reached his room, he immediately layed down on the bed, letting out a long sigh.

"Didn't even notice how tired you were, huh?" Morgana said. He jumped onto the bed next to him.

"Yeah. I guess I partied too hard." He said. They chuckled at that. "Oh, did you see Ryuji's face when Himari hugged him?"

"He's so doomed. I feel sorry for him." Morgana replied.

"Wow. Harsh much?" Akira said.

"I'm sorry, but when has Ryuji ever been good with the ladies?" Morgana replied.

"You gotta give him a little credit. They look good together, to be honest." Akira shot back. Morgana laughed.

"I wouldn't bet any of my nine lives on it. He has no chance." Morgana said.

"As much as you and Ann do?" Akira said with a smirk. Morgana glared at him.

"It will happen! I know it will!" He said. Akira rolled his eyes. The two then stopped talking and fell asleep shortly after.

 ** _*yeah, yeah its a bit longer but i tried to fit as much as i needed in this chapter so there was a lot of rewritting. again, thanks for reading and for the support. love you guys!_** ** _(oh, FilleDeZombie, sorry but this is the first persona game i played)*_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 Discovery**

 _"You leave him alone!"_ _He heard behind the door. "You don't step near that door!" He banged on the door as hard as he could._

 _"Mom! Please, let me in!" He banged on it harder._

 _"Sounds like someone wants to come in." A man said._

 _"I won't let you touch him!" A woman said. The sound of her shriek made his body tense up._

 _"You bastard!" He yelled. He heaved his body against the door as hard as he could. Right when he was about to do it a second time, the door flew open. He lost his balence and fell back as he stared at him in fear._

 _"You asked for it, you little shit." He said. He tried to back away but he couldn't find the strength to get up. All he could do was crawl away as best he could. He suddenly felt the wall to his back. He then felt hands tightly clutch around his neck and it was getting hard to breath. He felt his body being lifted off the ground. He felt so helpless as he stared into his heartless eyes._

 _"Let's play, shall we?" He said with an evil grin. He then threw him down on the ground and stopped down on his face._

* * *

Ryuji let out a gasp as his eyes shot open. His body felt heavy and he was drenched in sweat. He sat up quickly and looked around. He let out a sigh once he realized where he was. He held his head and groaned.

"What the hell?" He said. "I haven't had that since..." He let out a long sigh as he ruffled out his hair. He stood up from the bed and started stretching. He suddenly heard a soft, distant voice. It sounded like someone humming. He quietly walked to his door and opened it a little. The voice sounded much clearer and he could tell who it was. He peered through opening to try and saw Himari. She was smiling as she seemed to be getting something ready. She kept walking back and forth from something and she was humming a nice song, which made Ryuji smile. He was about to go to here when he heard another door open. He saw her look over to a side. Her smile went away. which made him a little worried.

"Hello mother." She said in a monotone voice. The lady from last night stepped up to her. She had a smile but it didn't look quite friendly.

"Hello dear." She said. She put a hand through her hair. "You didn't wash your hair." Himari looked down for a second.

"Sorry. I was tired after everything last night." She replied. Her mother gave her a small nod.

"Just don't do it again." She said. "So is everything looking good over there?" She walked out of view but Ryuji assumed she was still in the room.

"Yes. Everything you ordered seems to be in place. Though it's going to be in two weeks. Don't you think it's still too early?" She said.

"Baby, you can never be too careful." Her mother said. "Plus, you know the Americans. They can mess up a lot of things." Himari gave her a nod. "Oh, and you have to design another dress." Himari's eyes widened.

"What?" She said. "You said it would be for every show!"

"Well, I got some people saying it was too bright with the spotlight. Also, I think it appeared to be a bit slutty." Her mother replied. Himari scoffed.

"You said it was fine! After everything you said, you're changing your opinion?" Himari said. It was then her mother walked up to her, close to her face. Ryuji felt a lump in his throat.

"Excuse me?" She said in a deep voice. "You dare talk back and say these things about me?" Himari stepped back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Ryuji jumped when her mother suddenly slapped her. He wanted to do something but his body felt frozen in place.

"Don't you ever question me again. Don't you forget that I'm the reason you're here in the first place. I know what's best and you don't. So do whatever I say and never question it again." She said firmly. Ryuji started feeling his anger boil. It angered him even more with the stuff she was just saying. Himari rubbed her cheek.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I won't do it again." Her voice sounded defeated. It hurt Ryuji to see her like that.

"Good." Her mother said. Her phone chimed and she checked it. "I have some more things to order. Be sure they're gone by 10. I don't want to have to see them here and pick up after them." Himari avoided her gaze but nodded to her. Her mother then walked off and there was the sound of a door closing. Himari let out a shaky sigh. She touched her cheek again and let out a groan.

"Another day in this shithole." She said softly. "Just count yourself lucky. Who wouldn't want to be in your shoes?" She laughed. "Keep telling yourself that, Himari." She then walked out of view. Ryuji stood there, completely dumbfounded. His anger had gone away and was replaced with shock. He couldn't believe what he just saw and heard. He slid down the wall, completely distraut.

"Goddammit." He mumbled. "That bitch!" He ruffled his hair and let out a sigh. "What has she done to her?" He looked out the door again but there was no sign of her coming back. "I've got to tell the others. There's no way this just happened once."

* * *

Everybody was back at the hotel room now. After they were treated to breakfast at Himari's house, she dropped them back off and left. When they got to the room, Ryuji told them everything he saw and heard. They were all surprised to hear this and almost couldn't believe it.

"Are you sure that's it?" Futaba asked.

"I'm not making this up. Everything I'm telling you, I saw it." Ryuji said a little irritated. "God, it makes me sick when I think about it."

"So I guess our hunch was right." Makoto said.

"But are we sure this isn't just a one time thing?" Yusuke asked.

"I know what abuse looks like. She's been enduring this for a while." Ryuji said.

"Ryuji..." Haru said in a sad tone. Everyone looked away from him for a second.

"Why were you up so early anyway, Ryuji?" Ann asked. Ryuji immediately avoided their gazes.

"It's none of your business, Ann." He replied. Akira looked at him worryingly. He had a somewhat sad look on his face and he looked really tense.

"Anyway, if what Ryuji told us is true," Morgana said. "Then we may be dealing with something big here."

"Something big as in a heart worth stealing, right?" Akira asked. Morgana nodded his head.

"Do you think we should try the nav?" Futaba asked. "We'll never know unless we try." Everyone unanimously nodded their head. Futaba then took her phone out. "So what's the mom's name?"

"I believe it's Satsuki Aisaka." Makoto replied. Futaba then tiped away before the nav confirmed the target. Everyone was surprised at this.

"So it's true." Haru mumbled.

"She has a palace. I cannot believe this." Yusuke said.

"Why would someone like her have a palace? What could she possibly have that caused this distortion?" Ann asked.

"I don't know why but I get the feeling that it isn't just because of Himari." Morgana said. Everyone looked at hin curiously.

"What do you mean, Morgana?" Akira asked.

"The way Ryuji described what he saw just didn't sound like it would be the reason why she's like this." Morgana explained. "I just have a feeling that the distortion happened long before. Himari just might be the fuel for it."

"You really think that Himari is just the fuel for her anger?" Yusuke asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time." Ryuji said grimly. Everyone looked at him again. "So now we just gotta get the distortion. I'll definetly enjoy taking this bitch down."

"Don't say that Ryuji! It just sounds worse than it is!" Ann said.

"You shouldn't let your feelings get in the way, Ryuji. We don't want you doing anything rash." Yusuke said.

"You tell me that when someone's been abusing you for so long." He said sharply.

"Ryuji, calm down." Akira said. "We know how you feel about this sort of thing but we can't risk doing anything hasty." Ryuji scoffed.

"Just promise us you won't do anything without us." Morgana said. Ryuji sat in silence before finally nodding.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Ryuji. You have every right to be angry." Makoto said.

"Just don't get carried away." Ann added. Ryuji again nodded.

"So when are going back the house? We need to show up and leave quickly. We don't want Himari or Satsuki suspecting anything." Morgana asked.

"I'd say go as soon as possible and I'd suggest also write down as many ideas we can think of for the distortion." Futaba said.

"Agreed. That would be the best plan." Haru said.

"Then let's get started." Akira said.

* * *

The group spent most of the day thinking of distortions until they heard Himari was at the hotel. They decided to take this opportunity to try the nav at the house. They were able to get to the house but nothing else. Everything they thought of didn't match with the nav and there was no activation yet.

"Ugh, what else could it be?" Ann groaned.

"We thought of everything that could've been reletive to music but nothing came up." Makoto said.

"This is all you guys could think of?" Futaba asked. The team were almost at their wit's end and they felt like they were running out of time.

"Maybe it's not music related then." Akira said. "What if it has nothing to do with it?"

"But what else could it be?" Haru asked.

"What if it was something related to money?" Morgana said.

"You mean like a place that gets a lot of income?" Yusuke asked.

"It's worth a shot." Morgana said.

"Then... maybe a bank?" Ann said. The nav rejected the idea.

"I don't think it would be that big." Makoto said.

"A studio?" Haru suggested. The nav again rejected the idea.

"Nope." Futaba said.

"Ugh, my brain is too fried for this." Ann said.

"Should we leave then?" Akira asked. They were about to agree when Ryuji stepped up to Futaba.

"Give me the phone." He said. Futaba looked at him weird.

"You think you got it?" She asked.

"Just give it." Ryuji insisted. Futaba hesitantly gave him the phone. He typed something in and then the world suddenly felt weird.

"What?!" Yusuke exclaimed. The nav then started transporting them to the Metaverse.

"Ryuji, what was it?" Morgana asked.

"You'll see." He said. The world suddenly turned hazy and blurry. When it finally cleared, what stood before them was a four-story building with neon lights. There was a sign in front that read _The Aisaka House Of Pleasure._

"A club?" Haru said.

"Are you serious?" Ann exclaimed.

"How did you guess this, Ryuji?" Morgana asked.

"You guys said it was a place with a lot of money. I also thought of places that use others for the income." Ryuji replied.

"If this is what she really thinks of it, I'm afraid of what it'll look like inside." Yusuke said.

"Look! _Now showing, The Dancing Jasmine!_ " Makoto pointed to the sign.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Futaba said. They then found a secret way in from the side and entered. The inside looked like a typical club with a huge dance floor and a bar on the side. In the front were stages with three poles on the left, right, and center.

"This is so unnerving." Haru said.

"Yes. It just makes your skin crawl." Yusuke added. There were sudden cheers erupting from the room and everyone started gathering to the stage. When the team looked, they gasped. On the center pole was a girl in only white undergarments dancing exoticlly.

"That's..." Makoto started.

"Himari." Ryuji finished. Seeing her dancing in front of older men in a very crude and dirty fashion made him feel intensely sick. He clutched his fists tightly and he grit his teeth together.

"So this is how she sees her." Akira said in a grim voice.

"This is just sick!" Ann exclaimed. "How can someone see their daughter like this?"

"She sees her as nothing more than a cash-earning slut. How low can this woman get?" Yusuke said.

"Apparently lower." Morgana said. Everyone looked at him. He had a piece of paper that looked like a pamplet. "It's not much but it gives us the floor names. The first is obviously the club. The second is called _P_ _lay Floor._ The third is _The Temptress' Quarters_ and the top is the _Play Toys closet._ I have a feeling that's the treasure room."

"I cannot believe this woman." Haru said. "How can she think like this?" Everyone turned back to the stage. The men were all on the edge, stuffing money into her bra.

"Let's get out of here. I've had enough of this." Makoto said. The others agreed and turned to their exit. Before Ryuji got out, he took on last look at the stage. Himari was now dancing very close to a guy. She suddenly grabbed his face and started kissing him. He turned away and left as quickly as he could. He never felt more disgusted in his life.

* * *

"I still cannot believe it." Ann said. "That is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen since being in the Phantom Thieves and that includes Kamoshida."

"I agree. Even Madarame and Kaneshiro don't compare." Yusuke said.

"This is gonna be tough." Futaba said.

"How are we going to keep this from Himari?" Haru asked.

"Maybe we shouldn't." Ryuji said.

"What?" Yusuke said.

"You're thinking of telling her?" Ann said.

"Think about it, guys. She's gonna find out sooner or later. Why should we try and keep it a secret?" Ryuji said.

"Who knows how she's going to react. We barely got out of there with our dignity intact!" Akira said.

"He does kinda have a point though." Morgana said. Everyone looked at him surprised. "She's going to find out eventually. Maybe it's best if we just tell her."

"What are we going to tell her? How is she going to believe us?" Haru asked. Morgana stared at her before he looked down. It was then Makoto gasped.

"You want to show her the palace?!" She said.

"Are you kidding? Did you not hear what I said before?" Futaba said.

"How else would we be able to convince her? This is our only option!" Morgana said.

"Why would you even agree to this, Mona? Ryuji is being rash!" Yusuke said.

"Yeah, and what about it?" Ryuji said as he stood up. "You got a problem, Yusuke?"

"Yes. You're willing to risk a lot all because you're attracted to Himari and the fact that this is similar with what happened with you and your father!" Yusuke said. Everybody let out a gasp.

"Yusuke!" Akira shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why would you say that? You asshole!" Ann shouted. She slapped Yusuke in his face.

"That's not why I want to do this." Ryuji said calmly. Everyone looked at him curiously. "I'm doing this 'cause I can't sit and watch someone else go through the same thing I did. Nobody deserves that shit, especially not her." Everyone stood there in silence. Neither of them knew what to say or do to make the situation better. Even when Ryuji ended up walking off to the balcony, they still did nothing. They stood in silence for a few more seconds.

"You went to far, Inari." Futaba said softly, breaking the silence.

"What were you thinking? How could you say those things?" Makoto said. Yusuke held his head and let out a sigh.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking at all." Yusuke said. "I'm terrible." Everyone looked over at the balcony.

"Should we..." Haru said, pointing at the doors.

"Not now. I think he's had enough of us." Morgana said.

"Are you sure? You think he'll be ok?" Akira asked. He looked at the doors worringly.

"He just needs some time." Ann said. "He'll be fine."

* * *

Ryuji let out a sigh as he hung his head. He looked back at the doors to see them silently conversing. They all had worried expressions their faces. He held his head in response.

"Goddammit, why do I have to ruin everything?" He mumbled. His mind then went back to the dream and those eyes. The feeling of being helpless and staring into his eyes made him shiver. He then thought of Himari. He clentched his fist and let out groan.

"I won't let it happen." He said. His mind went back to the slap. "I won't let it get any worse." He felt something trail down from his cheek to his chin. "I promise."

 ** _*i had a bit of trouble writing the end of this chapter until i finally got it how i wanted it. we're finally getting to the deep stuff so just prepare for some heavy shit. thx guys!=D*_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 I Am Thou, Thou Art I**

Last night felt like the most awkwardest thing anyone has ever experienced. Ryuji remained quiet and distant for the rest of the evening, making everyone uncomfortable. They decided to let him sleep by himself since neither of them were able to hold a decent conversation or sit in the same room without feeling uneasy. Ryuji didn't argue as he was thinking the same thing. When morning came, nobody knew what to expect. They were all sitting in the living room, thinking about yesterday. Yusuke was wondering how to apologize to Ryuji while the others were too busy wondering whether or not to tell Himari about the palace. Most started feeling it was best if they did, but they still had doubts on how Himari would react or if she'd even believe them.

"Why does this feel so hard to do? We've done so many palaces so this should feel natural." Ann said.

"Maybe it's because of the subject matter this time." Makoto replied.

"Not to mention one of us has actually experienced something like this." Futaba added. Everyone glanced at the bedroom door that Ryuji was in. He hasn't come out yet and this made them increasingly worried.

"I've never see him like this before. Even though he's told us about this, I never expected it to be this serious." Morgana said.

"He would always seem so nonchalant about it. Granted it must've been painful, but I just didn't expect that." Yusuke said.

"Didn't Madarame abuse you though? Wouldn't expect a reaction like that?" Haru asked.

"I wouldn't say it was as severe as that. He did abuse me but it was nothing too drastic." Yusuke replied. "But even so, it is my fault. I wasn't thinking about Ryuji's feelings and I got ahead of myself."

"Now you just need to tell him." Akira said. He looked over at the door again. "If he even shows."

"He can't stay in the room forever. He'll come out." Ann said.

"Shouldn't we at least check on him? I'm really worried." Haru said. Right then, Ryuji came out of the room. He had visable puffy eyes and he looked really tired.

"Ryuji, are you ok?" Makoto asked. Ryuji ignored her and sat down in an empty seat. He let out a sigh and held his head.

"Have you guys decided yet?" He said. Everyone glanced at each other.

"Ryuji, we're worried. Are you-" Yusuke started to say but Ryuji looked at him in a serious matter.

"Please, just leave me alone." He said in a calm tone. He let out another sigh. There was a short silence before they spoke again.

"Well, it seems like most of us are thinking of telling Himari." Makoto said.

"But we're still not sure what will happen if we do." Futaba added.

"After seeing what we saw yesterday, it'll will be harder for us to show her." Ann said.

"Be that as it may, I'd say we need to take the risk." Morgana said. "Ryuji is right. Eventually, Himari would find out so it would honestly be pointless for us to try and keep it from her."

"Since when did you start agreeing with Ryuji?" Akira said.

"Not the time, Akira." Makoto said. Akira looked over at Ryuji, who had a very stoic face.

"So, I assume we are unanimous with this decision?" Yusuke said. Everyone looked at each other.

"So let's just say we do agree to this. The issue now is how are we going to convince her and not scare her?" Futaba asked.

"There might not be an easy way." Makoto said. "All we can do is hope that she trusts enough to believe us."

"Don't worry, she will." Ryuji said.

"How are you so sure?" Haru asked.

"She told me she's never had any real friends." He replied. "We're the first ones to ever be considered that for her. With a mother like hers, I believe she would think of us more as her family."

"You really believe she would? She barely knows us." Ann said. Ryuji looked down.

"When everybody in your life treats you like shit, anybody who is willing to put up with you becomes your family." He said sincerely. Everyone was at loss for words. No one understood this better than Ryuji and it made them feel almost helpless for him. Morgana jumped onto his lap.

"Then maybe you should be the one who leads this time." He said. Ryuji stared at him wide-eyed.

"What? What the hell are you sayin?" He said.

"You understand this better than anyone, Ryuji. You will be able to lead this better and be able to understand Himari." Morgana replied.

"Look, understanding Himari, I can do and that is it. Leading this thing isn't what I do." He said. "Why would you even suggest that? Have you gone nuts?"

"It was just a suggestion. Calm down already!" Morgana said.

"Why the hell are you arguing about this? We're talking about Himari right now!" Ann said. Ryuji groaned as he turned away from Morgana.

"Ryuji, are you sure Himari will be able to believe us?" Akira asked. Ryuji looked him right in the eyes.

"Without question." He said. Akira let out a small smile and nodded.

"Ok, then. I trust you." He said. He then turned to the rest of them. "We'll go ahead and tell Himari. It might be hard and who knows what could happen but if it's a chance to make this easier for her and help her get through this, I'll take it." The others shared glances with each other, having slight smiles on their faces. They then turned to Akira and nodded their heads.

"Whatever our leader says." Ryuji said.

"Alright, let's do it." He said.

* * *

"Are you sure she's here?" Futaba asked as she stared at the house. "I honestly don't want to run into her mom."

"We just gotta hope she is." Ryuji said.

"What if her mother shows up? What will we say?" Yusuke asked.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." Haru said.

"We're not backing down. We already decided and we're going to do it." Morgana said through the bag.

"We'll just have to come up with a good enough lie." Makoto said.

"We really should've planned this more." Ann said. They all walked up to the doors of the house. Everyone was very nervous and unsure of what was going to happen. Right when Akira was about to knock on the door, it opened to reveal Stasuki. She looked like she was going to leave but froze when she saw them.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?" She said.

"We're sorry ma'am but we wanted to see your daughter." Makoto said.

"We were the ones she gave the V.I.P. passes to." Haru said.

"Oh, I see." She said. "Well, I'm sorry but she's practicing right now and she's not to be disturbed."

"Can't we just wait for her to finish?" Ann asked.

"I'm sorry but she's really busy." Satsuki replied. "Could you please just go?"

"Who's there, mom?" They heard from the inside. Himari then poked her head out of the door. "Oh, hey guys!" She gave them a smile. The others smiled and waved.

"Dear, you have to practice for your next show." Satsuki said. "You can't hang out with them right now."

"Mother, it's in two weeks. I already chose the songs and I think I've practiced enough. It'll just be for a little bit." Himari said. Satsuki looked over at her. Ryuji felt his stomach churn when he saw the look on her face. It looked like she was a little angry but she was trying to hide it from them. He saw Himari look at her uneasy, which put him on edge. Satsuki then let out a small smile.

"Of course. How silly of me. Just don't spend too much time. You still have things to do." She said.

"Of course, Mother." Himari replied. Satsuki nodded and then walked away from them. Himari looked over the group. "What are you doing here? You can't come here when you want. You're lucky I came over here or my mother would've had you guys."

"We're sorry Himari, but there's something really important we need to talk to you about." Makoto said. Himari looked at them concerened.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked. They group looked at each other.

"Well..." Haru said timidly. "We don't know how to tell you exactly." Ryuji then stepped up to her. He took in a deep breath before he spoke.

"Himari, have you heard of the Phantom Thieves?" He asked. Himari looked at him confused.

"Huh? The Phantom Thieves?" She said. She looked down as she was thinking. "Well, I've heard what they've done and that they steal people's hearts but that's it. Why are you asking?" Everybody exchanged glances at each other before looking back at her. Her face slowly changed to surprise. "Wait..." She said. "Are you serious?"

"You guessed it, huh." Ann said. Himari took a step back from them.

"You're... the Phantom Thieves?" She said. "But how is that possible? How is this even real?"

"I know this is shocking, but it's the truth." Yusuke said.

"We're not joking with you. Please, believe us." Ryuji said. Himari looked at each of them. She didn't know what to think at first. She never thought in her life that she would ever encounter the Phantom Thieves. She wasn't even sure they were real.

"I..." She shook her head to try and think. "I'm not sure what to think." She looked at Ryuji. She hasn't known him long enough but she could tell by his eyes alone he was being sincere. She nodded her head. "But I trust you guys." Everyone looked surprised except for Ryuji. He was the only one smiling.

"Himari," Akira said. "What we do is kinda hard to understand at first and... it's sometimes disturbing. We just want you to know that you should just prepare for the worst, especially for this."

"How do you guys even do this?" She asked. "And who's heart are you going to steal?"

"It's your mother's." Yusuke said. Himari was again surprised.

"What? My mother's?" She exclaimed.

"We know what she does to you, Himari. You don't need to hide it." Makoto said. Himari took in a breath.

"Ok. Well, how are you going to do it? How does it work?" She asked.

"That may be hard to explain." Haru said.

"The way it happens is pretty confusing and we're not sure you'll understand. That's why we're going to show you." Futaba said. Himari nodded her head. Akira took out his phone and looked at her again.

"Just remember that what's about to happen, we will explain." He assured. Himari had a worried look but she nodded her head anyway. Akira then typed in the keywords and the words started pulsating.

"W-what?" She exclaimed.

"Calm down Himari. This is supposed to happen." Ryuji said.

"What IS happening?" She said. The world got blurry and hazy again, being too hard to see. When it cleared, Himari gasped at the sight she saw. "What the hell is this?"

"This... is how she sees everything in her heart." Morgana said. Himari turned to see everyone dressed in weird costumes and a cat standing there.

"Um... what just happened?" She asked. She looked down at the cat. "Who are you?"

"Uh, remember my pet?" Akira asked. Morgana walked up to Himari.

"That's me. And yes, I talk." He said. Himari's eyes widened.

"Um... a-anyway, what did you say before about this?" She said, looking back at the club.

"First, I should tell you how this even works." Morgana said. Himari looked down at him attentively. "We call these things palaces. They take form when a person's strong desires becomes distorted."

"Their desires?" Himari mumbled. Her face then looked like a light bulb went on. "Of course. She never had the training."

"Training?" Yusuke asked.

"My mother never had a chance to become a singer. She never took classes and she was always too nervous to perform." Himari explained. She looked at the club again. "So her distorted desire ended up becoming this?"

"Precisely." Morgana replied. "Everything that is in here right now, even the people are what her heart has made up. We call them cognitions and shadows."

"Shadows?" Himari asked.

"Think of them as fake versions of real people." Ann said. Himari nodded at that.

"Well, I'm still pretty shocked about this, but I think I understand most of it." She said. "How do you guys steal their hearts though?"

"We have to steal their treasure." Akira said. "The person has something in the real world that fuels their desires. In here, it's their treasure. Once we steal it, her heart should change."

"Oh and why are you guys dressed like this?" Himari asked.

"Uhhh this might be a bit harder to explain." Morgana said. "We have something called a Persona. It's a sort of rebellious, rightous spirit we have in ourselves. We use them to fight the dangers inside."

"Dangers?"

"Yeah, there will be some shadows that will attack us but our Personas help us to fight them." Ryuji said. Himari thought for a second.

"Ok, I guess I'll have to learn as I go on." She said. Surprise came to everyone at that.

"Wait, what?" Ann exclaimed.

"You want to come in with us?" Haru said.

"I might as well help. This is my mother we're talking about." Himari replied.

"But what you'll see inside..." Yusuke said. Himari looked at him curiously. "It's not pleasent."

"We went in yesterday and it's honestly a sick sight to see." Makoto said. Himari looked down at the ground.

"So I can't do anything for you guys?" She asked.

"We're just not sure how you'll take it." Ryuji said.

"But I want to help! Please, let me come!" She said. The Thieves looked at each other with worried expressions. Akira let out a sigh.

"If you want to come, you just need to be ready." He said. "It's pretty nasty in there." Himari nodded her head. With that, the team went in the way they did yesterday. The club was again filled and it looked Himari's shadow hasn't come out yet. Himari was both impressed and unnerved. She wasn't sure how to process this thing but she kept in mind that she should trust her friends.

"My friends!" She heard. She looked up to at the stage. She felt her mouth open in surprise as she saw herself on the stage, dressed in a golden bikini. The crowd errupted in a loud cheer as they quickly crowded around the stage. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. She was clearly in shock but she mostly felt like she was angry. She clentched her hands into fists as she stared at the sight of herself dancing in a disgusting matter.

"Himari?" She heard Ryuji's voice but she didn't turn around. She couldn't take her eyes off of the sickening sight. Her face changed from shock to pure anger.

"I always knew." She said. "I always thought she never saw me as a singer, let alone her own daughter." Ryuji looked over at Shadow Himari. It seemed like she was really enjoying herself, dancing half-nude in front of perverted adults. His blood started to boil again the more he watched.

"My people!" A voice rang through the room. Everyone started looking around for the owner of the voice. The suddenly heard a laugh coming from the stage. Then, a black ooze started materializing onstage and it suddenly took form of Satsuki, dressed in a skin-tight black leotard with rips in random spots with a big rip down her chest, showing cleavage. She also diamond bracelets and necklace and a diamond crown that was shaped into horns on her head.

"M-Mother?!" Himari exclaimed.

"That's not your mom! It's her shadow!" Morgana said. Satsuki let out another laugh that sounded very shrill.

"I know you were enjoying the show," She said. She looked over at Shadow Himari with an evil grin as she caressed her cheek, making her smile greatly. "Believe me, I know." She looked back at the crowd. "But I have an offer that I know you won't refuse!" She then pointed at Himari. The crowd followed and stared. Himari looked around, frightened. "As a free trial for anyone who wishes, you get to have the first ever V.I.P. special, which allows you to have a threesome with my twin daughters." Himari and the Phantom Thieves all stood in shock.

"What?!" Himari exclaimed.

"Did she seriously just say that?!" Ann exclaimed.

"That vile woman! How dare she even suggest that!" Yusuke said. Another shrill laugh errupted from Satsuki.

"In fact, the first person to bring her up here will be rewarded first." She said. The men in the club quickly started surrounding Himari, not allowing her to escape. They grabbed her by the wrists tightly and started getting very close to her face in a dirty matter.

"Stop! Let me go!" She shouted. She tried to get her hands free but the men holding her tightened their grip, hurting her in the process. She stared in horror as the men started moving their hands to her stomach until a huge bolt of lightning burst through them, making them let her go and groan in pain as the electricity coursed through them. When she hit the ground, she saw Ryuji standing in front of her.

"You disgusting shitbags think of touching her again, I'll break your arms so you never feel them again!" He shouted. The men scattered away in fear. Akira and Makoto ran over and helped Himari up.

"Himari, are you alright?" Makoto asked. Himari quickly nodded her head as she steadied herself.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said. She rubbed her wrists, which were starting to bruise.

"How could you do that to your own daughter?!" Futaba yelled at Satsuki.

"You offered her up as if she was just toy! How sick can you be?" Haru said. Satsuki glared as she started walking toward the Thieves.

"This girl owes me a great debt." She said. "I provided for her and made her career work for many years. It's only natural that she pays me back."

"She's your daughter! She doesn't owe you anything!" Ann said angrily.

"How naiive can you be? I've worked so hard for her to be where she is. Everything she is, she owes to me." Satsuki said. Himari walked up to her.

"I gave you everything, Mother!" She said. "I gave you my talents, my entire life, and you still think I owe you more? What else could I give you?" Satsuki then grabbed Himari by the neck and lifted her off of the ground.

"Your life alone is worth nothing. As long as I get the luxury from your talents for however long I say, that's when you're worth something." She said. She threw her over to the side with brute force as she coughed over her loss of air.

"You BITCH!" Ryuji yelled. He started to run to Satsuki to attack but she then snapped her fingers. At that instant, black ooze formed around Ryuji and pinned him to the ground.

"Ryuji!" Akira yelled. The Thieves tried to run to him but the ooze appeared around them, trapping them. Satsuki laughed again as she kneeled toward Ryuji.

"You have such a strong spirit, young man." She said. "That's the one thing I will miss in you." She then snapped her fingers again and ooze started flowing over Ryuji.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Himari screamed. Everyone turned to see her starting to stand up with her fists balled up. "I've spent eleven years trying to make you happy and appriciate what I had to offer to you. I let you take my talent for your own gain as you ruled over my life. No more. I won't let you have control over my life, not anymore. YOU HEAR ME?!"

 _"So you finally found the courage to say it, huh?"_ A voice rang through her head. Himari then felt her heart give a tremendous beat. Her she started feeling excruciating pain from her head, almost as if someone was squishing it. She fell back on the ground as she let out a groan.

 _"Having the courage to sing in front of thousands of souls is impressive, but being able to stand up to your supressors is exemplary."_ The voice said again. Her head started to hurt even more. _"That's right, stand up for the things you love and to those who wish to crush it."_ Then half of a black mask with golden designs suddenly appeared on the upper part of her face that went all the way to the right.

 _"I am Thou, Thou art I. Now awken your new power and use it to stand up and take charge of your life."_ The voice said. Himari grabbed the mask and ripped it off, leaving half of her face bloody and letting out bloodcurdling scream. She was then engulfed in intense blue flames that ignited the entire room. When it cleared, she was dressed in a royal blue, high neck steampunk-like dress shirt with a short black skirt with golden designs on the ends. She had knee-high black laced-up boots and netted tights underneath and also black arm-length gloves. Behind her was a woman in a black dress with a royal blue coat and a golden flute in hand.

"W-what is this?!" Satsuki exclaimed in fear.

"She unlocked her Persona!" Morgana cheered.

"She looks soooo coool!" Futaba said.

"With this power, I'll finally be able to stand up to you." Himari said. Sudden bolts of energy shot out through the air, hitting the black ooze around Ryuji and the Phantom Thieves, freeing them. "Come on Euterpe, let's blow them away!" More bolts then aimed at Satsuki. She quickly conjured up more ooze to defend her and they soon took form of shadows. As the Phantom Thieves got together and helped Ryuji up, Himari attacked the shadows to give them time. The Phantom Thieves then joined in, attacking the shadows with everything they got. As the last of them were defeated, there was no sign of Satsuki anywhere.

"Looks like she ran off." Haru stated.

"Good riddence." Ann said. "I had enough of her." Himari then let out a groan as she collapsed to the ground.

"Himari!" Ryuji exclaimed. He ran over to her as she shakingly stood up.

"I... I'm fine." She said weakly.

"We've got to get her out. She's too tired for this and I can see more shadows are coming." Futaba said.

"But... what about..." She started to say. She then lost her strength as she started to fall but Ryuji caught her this time.

"We have to go. We don't have time." He said. It was then more shadows started appearing.

"Quick, we need to leave!" Morgana said. With that, Ryuji carried Himari in his arms as he and the others ran out of the palace.

* * *

When they got out of the palace, they were debating whether to go to the hotel or inside Himari's house. Himari told them to go to the hotel, even if it meant bad news for her mother. When they got to their suit, they layed her down on rhe nearest bedroom and sat down around her. Her wrists were still bruised from the men in the club, which made the group angry, especially Ryuji.

"So... that thing, that was my Persona, right?" She said softly. She was still very weak and tired.

"Yes, Himari. It's impressive you were able to unlock it this early, if I say so myself." Morgan said.

"It seemed quite powerful, too." Yusuke added.

"At least now you'll definetly be able to help us." Ann said. Himari chuckled.

"I'm glad. I wouldn't you to do this alone." She said. "And to be honset, I feel like it's about time I stood up to her."

"Why didn't you ever do it before?" Futaba asked.

"I was always too afraid of what could happen." Himari replied. "She made me believe I'd have nothing without her so I would always tell myself to endure it."

"That's horrible. Not only did she abuse you physically but she made you believe that you needed her." Makoto said.

"We will take her down, Himari." Ryuji said. "Then you'll finally be free." Himari smiled at him.

"I know we will." She said.

"We should let her sleep. She's needs it." Akira said. Everyone nodded.

"Rest, Himari. You deserve it." Haru said. Himari nodded at them. Everyon except Ryuji then got up and headed out of the room. He looked over at Himari with a determined face. He looked down at her wrists for a second.

"I will make her pay." He said. "You don't deserve any of this, Himari." He looked up at her. She gave him a small smile in response. He suddenly felt movement on his hand. He looked down to see her hand on top of his. He felt his heart skip a beat as he looked at her again.

"Thank you, Ryuji." She said. Ryuji felt himself smile. He looked down at her hand again, turning his over so that hers was in his. She willingly held onto it and he did the same. It was much smaller and paler than his and so much softer. The bruises on her wrists didn't matter to him anymore. He just couldn't get over how nice it felt to hold her soft, delicate hand. He let out a sigh as he gently let go and got up.

"Goodnight, Himari." He said.

"Goodnight, Ryuji." She said back. He walked over to the door and switched the lights off. He took one more look at her before leaving the room. The thought of those men grabbing her violently in the club crossed his mind. He never felt a more need to protect someone like he did now.

"I made a promise to you." He said softly. "And I intend to keep it."

 ** _*another long one and an important one at that. i really gave this one a lot of thought with the new persona and the outfit for her. plus, i always loved it when the characters got their personas so i just had to make this special(BTW, if you guys wonder what moves she uses, they're nuclear). thx again for reading and stay tuned! =D*_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 In The Past**

 _Someone was grabbing her again. It was so much worse this time. They ripped her clothes off until it was nothing but her undergarments. They pinned her down and started kissing her savagely._

 _"Let me go!" She screamed. She squirmed as much as she could but to no avail. They started moving down to her chest and her breasts. He couldn't take it anymore. He ran up to whoever was on her and pushed them off. When he turned to help her, she was gone and his surroundings changed to a familiar house. When he looked at the person who was on her, he felt his heart stop. He stood frozen as he got closer to him._

 _"Always gotta get in the way, huh buddy?" He said with a wicked grin. He then punched him in the face with great force, making him fall to the ground. He then felt his stomach getting kicked in constantly. When it stopped, his body felt so weak. It was hard to breath and his stomach felt caved in. He then felt his hair getting yanked up to where he was looking into his eyes._

 _"Had enough, boy?" He said. He then felt another punch to his face, much harder this time, making his head turn. His vision was blurry but he saw him starting to walk to her on the floor. She was looking right at him, reaching out a hand._

 _"Ryuji!" She shouted. His concioussness started fading as his vision got darker. The last thing he heard was her calling his name again._

* * *

"Ryuji!" He heard someone shout. His shot open when he was shaken violently. He saw Akira and Morgana standing over him.

"What? What's going on?" He said. He sat up on the bed. It was then he realized he was drenched in sweat and his head felt heavy. He held it up as he saw concerned looks on their faces.

"You tell us. You were all sweaty and tense in your sleep! We called you three times before you woke up." Morgana said. Ryuji looked at them confused.

"Are you serious? Did it look that bad?" He asked.

"Yeah, we were both getting worried." Akira said. "I almost called the others in here!"

"Well, you can calm down now. I'm fine." Ryuji said. He got up from the bed and so did Akira.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Relax man. It was nothing." He said. He walked out of the room, assumingly to the bathroom. Akira sighed as he sat down on the bed. Morgana jumped onto his lap.

"Should we tell the others?" He asked. Akira ruffled his frizzy hair.

"I don't know. I have never seen him like this and I don't know what to think." He said. They suddenly heard a thud out of the room.

"Ryuji! Watch where you're going!" Futaba yelled. Akira got up from the bed and went to the living room. Ryuji and Futaba were on the floor, rubbing their heads.

"Sorry, Futaba." He said wincing.

"Why do you guys gotta be so noisy in the morning?" Ann said groggly. She walked into the living room rubbing her eyes.

"Since when did you guys even wake up this early?" Yusuke said. They all turned to see him sitting on the couch, drinking coffee.

"When did you even get here?" Futaba asked.

"Where's Makoto and Haru?" Ann asked.

"Right here." Haru said. She and Makoto walked into the room, smiling gladly.

"We've been up for a while. We were just waiting for you guys to wake up." Makoto said. She looked at her phone. "Wow. New record guys."

"Does that really matter? I have a head injury right now!" Futaba said.

"Oh, calm down. It's not like it could kill you." Ryuji replied while he stood up.

"Sure, but the brian cells I lost have really gone to waste with the likes of you." Futaba retorted. Ryuji glared at her.

"Ok, enough!" Morgana said. "Where's Himari?" Everyone looked over at her door.

"Oh, she left to the house. She didn't want to risk making her mother too angry." Yusuke said.

"Geez, when did you get up?" Ann asked.

"How late did you sleep?" Yusuke replied. Ann stuck her tongue out.

"I hope she'll be ok." Haru said. "Judging by what we saw yesterday, I'm really worried of what this woman could do."

"All we can do is hope she doesn't do anything drastic." Makoto said. Ryuji balled his fists up when he heard that.

"We've got to take her down fast. I don't want Himari to take any more of this crap." Ryuji said.

"Hey, while you're at it, you should take a shower." Futaba said. Ryuji looked at her weirdly.

"What the hell are you saying?" He asked.

"You're all sweaty. What happened to you anyway?" Futaba asked again. Ryuji felt a lump in his throat and heart beat faster.

"Um, nothing. Just a rough night." He said. The others didn't look convinced, especially Akira.

"Ok, I've had enough." He said. He walked over to Ryuji and grabbed his arm. He walked him over to the empty seat and sat him down forcibly.

"What the hell, dude?" He said.

"Look, ever since that night, you've been weird. I don't know if it has to do with everything that's happening with Himari or not, but you're seriously worrying us." Akira said.

"Yeah. This isn't the first time you woke up early." Ann said.

"And there was that instance when you fell asleep outside." Haru said.

"With something in your hand." Morgana asked. Everyone sat down on the couch as they looked at him attentively.

"Come on, Ryuji." Akira said sincerly. "Talk to us." Ryuji looked at them all. He was a little surprised at how worried they were about him. He started feeling really uncomfortable and hot. He wasn't sure how to start. He let out a sigh as he looked down.

"Fine." He said. "What happened that time outside was not really a big deal. I was tired and a little pissed at you guys and I ended up sleeping outside."

"Do you do it often?" Yusuke asked. "Ann mentioned something like that." Ryuji gave them a slow nod.

"I used to do it a lot more," He said. "When I was little." He felt super tense and his heart was beating violentlu against his chest. "As you guys know, Dad used to abuse my mom and I, but it was mostly my mom 'cause she always tried to protect me from him." He was silent for a second there before spoke again. "She would sometimes lock me out of the house to protect me. They would last all night sometimes so I really had no choice." He looked at them. They all had sad and worried faces.

"That's horrible, Ryuji." Haru said.

"Has this really affected that for you?" Makoto asked.

"Have you been having nightmares?" Futaba asked. Ryuji nodded again.

"It's been a long time, though." He said. "I haven't had them since I was little."

"Are you going to be ok?" Ann asked.

"Hey, I've been through worse shit. I'll be fine." He said.

"What about what was in your hand?" Morgana asked. Ryuji looked at him with a serious face.

"That stays with me, cat." He said. Morgana looked like he was going to say something but Akira pinched his mouth together.

"Not now, Mona." He said with a serious face. When he let go of his mouth, Morgana rubbed it with his paws.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Haru asked. Ryuji got up from his seat.

"I'm the last person you guys should be worrying about right now. Himari is our priority." He said. He smacked his hands together. "Now, can we get some food up here? I'm starving!"

"Well, at least he's not bummed out." Morgana said. It was then there was a soft knock on their door.

"Who could that be?" Ann asked. She got up from her seat and went to the door. When she opened it, she let out a gasp.

"H-Himari!" She exclaimed. The group got up from their seats and went to the door in a hurry. They all stood in shock when they saw her. She was looking down at the floor sadly and she had red bruise on her left cheek. Ryuji pushed to the front to see her. She looked at him for a minute before looking away. He wasn't sure what he was feeling but he was sure it wasn't anger.

"Oh my goodness, what happened to you?" Haru asked.

"What do you think?" She said. "She didn't like me staying here."

"Then what are you doing here? Does she know?" Makoto asked.

"I don't care anymore." She said. "We're going to change her heart so this won't be for nothing." She rubbed it a little.

"Well then, come in." Akira said. The others parted from the doorway for her to enter. She sat down on the couch in silence for a second. She suddenly looked down her phone for a second and looked at them again.

"When did you guys wake up anyway?" She asked. "Have you eaten?" They glanced at each other.

"Uh, we were thinking about it." Ann said. Himari saw how confused they looked.

"Guys, please don't be bummed out. I know how it looks but I'm not worried." She said. "I've seen what happens to the ones you changed hearts. If it plays out right, then we shouldn't be worried." She gave them a confident smile. They weren't sure how to respond to that so they just stood there, silent. Himari rolled her eyes and walked up to the room service phone. She chuckled when she saw them still staring.

 _"Room Service."_ The voice rang through her ears.

"Yes, I'd like to place an order." She said. She looked at the piece of paper that had the menu. She smiled when she saw the special on it. "The special for eight people in room..." She looked at them again with a face. They all looked at each other again.

"43." Makoto replied. They all nodded at her. She gave them another smile and repeated the number.

 _"Ok, so we have eight breakfast special orders coming to room 43 in about 30 minutes. We'll have your payment then, thank you!"_ The caller said. Himari thanked them back and hanged up. She looked back up at the group.

"They said it'll be here in 30 minutes." She said.

"Awwww, we have to wait that long?" Futaba groaned.

"I would've expect two of us to say something like that." Akira joked. It was then loud rumbles were heard from everyone in the group. Himari covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh.

"This is so embarressing." Yusuke said.

"I hope it gets here faster than it's supposed to." Ryuji added with a sigh.

* * *

They ate like savages when their food came. Who knew that 30 minutes would feel like an eternity in the morning. Even Makoto and Haru ate fast, which was surprising to all of them. Himari spent most of the meal keeping her laughter as they were eating. They finished everything, not leaving a single bit of food behind.

"Man, I might not end up eating dinner after this." Ryuji moaned.

"Well, it's about time you layed off the food." Ann said.

"Look who's talking." Ryuji retorted. Ann gave him a glare.

"Shut up, you!" She said. The others laughed at this. Morgana jumped onto the table.

"Now that we seemed refreshed," He said. "We should discuss our plan for today."

"I also want to know how you guys do this change of heart." Himari said.

"Well, as usual, we've got to locate the treasure room as soon as possible, send the calling card to her and once that happens, we've got to successfully steal the treasure." Futaba explained.

"Oh, that's right. You guys always send those things." Himari said. "What do they do?"

"When a Palace owner recieves a calling card, it causes them to become aware and makes their treasure materalizes for us to steal it." Morgana replied.

"That's the only we can steal it and change her heart." Akira said. Himari nodded her head.

"Well, this sounds easy enough." She said.

"It can be but there's also the fact we sometimes have to deal with the shadows." Ann said.

"And your mother." Makoto added. Himari felt herself gulp as she looked down for a second.

"Of course." She said softly. Ryuji looked at her sadly.

"Don't worry Himari." He said. He placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "We'll be there for you."

"And you're not alone." Yusuke said. "We've all been through similar situations."

"Yeah, so we know how you feel." Futaba said. Himari nodded at them and smiled.

"Thanks guys." She said.

"Oh, we should come up with your codename!" Haru said.

"Codename?" Himari asked.

"We don't call each other our real names. It could compromise us." Makoto said.

"Plus, it's fun to come up with our names." Ann said.

"For example, I'm Joker." Akira said.

"Skull." Ryuji added.

"Panther."

"Fox."

"Queen."

"Oracle."

"Mona."

"And I'm Noir." Himari looked at all of them and nodded. She then looked down as she was thinking.

"Your Persona looked really cool. What was it?" Ann asked.

"Her name is Euterpe. In greek mythology, she was one of the nine muses of music. She was the muse of lyrical poetry." Himari explained.

"Your mask is cool too. Hell, your whole outfit is cool." Futaba said. Himari chuckled.

"Goddess seems like a bit much, right?" Yusuke asked.

"Oh yeah. Way too much for me." Himari said. The others all started thinking.

"Geez, this might be tough." Futaba said.

"Yeah. This is what we get for not being music nerds." Ann said.

"At least not about this." Akira said.

"Hey, what about Siren?" Ryuji suggested. The others lookat him weirdly.

"Really? That makes her sound desperate." Ann said.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion!" Ryuji said.

"What else would we expect from you?" Morgana said. Ryuji shot a glare at him.

"Um, guys?" Haru said. They all looked at her. She pointed over at Himari, who was still in thought. She looked up at them and nodded.

"Wait, are you serious?" Morgana said wide eyed.

"You like it?" Makoto asked.

"I mean, it fits, wouldn't you say?" Himari said. They all looked surprised. Ryuji looked at her with the widest eyes ever.

"For real?" He said. Himari smiled and nodded.

"Well, Siren it is then." Akira said. "So it seems we're all set for the heist today." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Alright, then let's waste no more time. Let's get going!"

* * *

When they got to the Palace, they did whatever they could to make it to the second floor. In order to do that, they had to unlock the doors with special keycards, which they had to steal from two security shadows. The second floor was had many "playrooms." In order to proceed, they had to pass the Headlady shadow, which was a bit of a challenge but they got through it.

It was the third floor where it was got tricky. It was the Temptress' Quarters, which meant it was Shadow Himari's room. It had one enormous bed with a bunch of sex toys all over the walls. When they got there, she was waiting for them, dressed in see-through dress that was showing everything she was wearing under. She gave them a glare when they arrived.

"Looks like you were able to come this far." She said.

"Maybe you should try stepping up your game." Himari said grimly. Shadow Himari gave her a smirk.

"Glad you could make it, sister." She said. "Though your little friends aren't invited, unless they're here for the threesome." Ryuji tensed up at that.

"You're still on that?" Yusuke said.

"Look around. You think these beauties are just for show?" Shadow Himari said with a deviant smile.

"We're not here for that." Ryuji said. "We're here to stop you from doing this stuff. You're not gonna dirty Himari's image anymore!" Shadow Himari let out a laugh. It was then metal chains that were handcuffed to her wrists appeared. She gave one of them a twirl as she smiled evilly.

"Bring it on then." She said. "Do your worst. I'll enjoy it." The engaged in combat with her. She was a lot tougher than they thought with her long reach and surprisingly strong attacks. They were able to hold out to the point where they got half way through te fight. Her whole fighting style changed then. She ripped up her dress to reveal a dirty looking deksia. She then pulled out a whip with thorns all over it.

"You guys are fun." She said. "Ready to step it up a notch?" She wrapped the whip around her, leaving noticable cuts that started to bleed. She didn't care as she laughed maniacally.

"Ugh, this is so disgusting to watch." Ann said.

"Let's finish this off as fast as we can. I'm sick of looking at her." Akira said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Himari said. They engaged in battle again, fight harder than they did before. She seemed a lot stronger and tougher even though she wasn't wearing much. It got increasingly difficult when they were at the home stretch but they were able to finally beat her. She collapsed to the ground with a worried expression.

"What am I going to tell her?" She mumbled. "I can't fail again. Who knows what she'll do to me this time."

"Wow. Her cognition is almost like Himari's" Futaba said.

"It's kinda sad." Haru said.

"More pathetic, if we're being honest." Makoto added.

"You think you can stand up to her? Do you know what she could do? She's a despicable person who doesn't care who she hurts as long as she gets what she wants." She said. Himari walked up to her.

"You think I don't know that?" She said. If you've forgotten, you and I are the same. The only difference is that I'm actually doing something about it." Shadow Himari looked up at her with a serious face.

"You've always been feisty." She said. She then completely disappeared, leaving behind a key on a diamond chain. Himari picked it up and turned to the others.

"Here's our ticket." She said. They all walked up to her. Futaba took the key and examined it.

"Geez. This woman is seriously getting even more disgusting." She said.

"What is it, Futaba?" Ann asked.

"If I'm seeing this correctly, this key wouldn't have materialized unless Shadow Himari was beaten." Futaba said.

"So she used her as just another obstacle for us. Even though she's just a shadow, that's cruel." Haru said.

"How did she get to be so cruel?" Yusuke said.

"That's just what the world does to someone." Morgana said. "Come on, let's secure the treasure and get out of here." They all nodded and searched for the door for the 4th floor. Once they found and unlocked it, they went inside. It looked like a huge closet full of sex toys of every kind hanging on all the walls. In the center was a glowing orb floating in the air.

"Looks like we found it." Akira stated.

"I'm kinda scared to see what form it will take." Morgana said.

"That's rare coming from you." Futaba said.

"Seeing where it is located, I doubt it'll be anything pretty." Ann said.

"Ugh, this place just makes my skin crawl." Ryuji said.

"So all that's left is to send the calling card, correct?" Himari asked. Everyone nodded in response.

"Yep. Once that happens, we're set." Akira said.

"Let us discuss this at the hotel. I'm not very comfortable here." Yusuke said.

"I've never wanted to agree to something even more." Haru said. They all agreed and made their way out of the Palace.

* * *

They got back to the hotel before Satsuki got back to the house. The whole team agreed for Himari to stay at the hotel, as it might be safer. After a short dinner, they discussed what was going to be written on the calling card and agreed on sending it tomorrow as soon as possible. Once they had everything prepared, they spent a little time conversing amongst themselves. Himari wanted to be alone for a little bit so she went off to the balcony. They didn't worry and understood what she meant. Afterwards, they decided to go to sleep. Before he did, Ryuji decided to check on Himari. She was still on the balcony of her room when he went there.

"Hey, Himari" He said. She turned around suddenly. She let out a sigh and laughed.

"Oh, Ryuji! You kinda scared me there." She said.

"Sorry. Guess I should've knocked." He said. Himari beckoned him to the balcony, which he obliged. When he was next to her, he felt his heartbeat quicken, which made him a little nervous. He looked at her for a second. He suddenly remembered his dream, which made him even nervous. He looked down at her bruised wrists, which were still visablly purple. He let out a sigh, which caught her attention.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. He held his head as he leaned on the balcony rail.

"Well..." He didn't know where to start. He didn't want to tell her his dream, that was for sure. "It's just that with everything that's been happening with us and you, I'd expect you to maybe be a bit worried but you don't seem to be at all. Aren't you a bit worried about tomorrow?" He felt a little weird asking this but judging how she gave him a small smile gave him slight relief.

"That's actually why I'm up here." She replied. "I'm just trying to keep my head while I just work this out." She looked out to the sky. Her expression changed to a frown as she looked down. "You know, for so many years, I've always told myself how other people have it worse than I do just so I could grin and bear all." Ryuji felt sad at that for some reason.

"I think that's great." He said. "You did better than me." She looked at him curiously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. He looked away from her. He felt himself tense up and he felt his eyes water. He started fidgeting with his hands. Why was it hard to tell her? He already told the others. Why was this any different. He swallowed as he looked at her again.

"You and I aren't all that different, Himari." He said. She shifted her body toward him, giving him her full attention. He took in a deep breath as he got ready to speak.

"My old man... he used to abuse me and my mom." He said. "It's really not that bothers me, it's what I did afterwards. I got into so much trouble in school and that caused even more trouble for my mom. She had enough to deal with but I just had to make things harder." He felt a tear escape his eye, which he quickly wiped away. He turned away from Himari leaned on the rail again. "Sometimes I think I'm a sorry excuse for a son." There was silence there as he felt another tear escape. He didn't bother to wipe it away this time. He then felt movement on his arm. He saw that she had wrapped her arm around his and leaned on his shoulder.

"You think too much, Ryuji." She said. "And if she really thought that about you," She then pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Why would you have this?" He stood back from her as stared at what was in her hand.

"How did you get that?" He asked.

"You dropped it while we were fighting. It looked important." She replied. "Judging from the gem, it looks like it belonged to a woman." Ryuji took it from her. He rubbed his finger through it. He felt letters underneath them as he did. He let out a chuckle.

"It was my mom's favorite earings." He said. "I accidently broke one when I was messing with her stuff. She didn't get mad, as usually. The next day, she gave me a necklace chain with the gem attached to it. She had it engraved to say, _Never feel sorry about yourself_." He clutched it in his hand. He looked at Himari, who had a sincere smile on her face. She walked closer to him.

"I'm pretty sure she meant that with all her heart." She said. She looked down at his hand as she placed hers around it, clenching them with his. She then gave him a sincere hug. Ryuji immediately put his arms around her. He never happier or warmer in anyone elses embrace like hers. It was then he felt an urge. He wanted to smell her hair and feel it through his fingers. He wanted to hold longer and not feel awkard about it at all. He wanted to hold her hands and make her feel safe like how she made hin feel. Even when he told her goodnight and left her room, the urge was still there and even stronger. He slid down her door as he sighed. It was then that he knew why. That's when he knew that he loved her.

 ** _*plz tell me you're squealing. TELL ME NOW!!! hope you enjoyed this chapter. sorry i took a while. i had writers block cz i kept having to rewrite some parts until i got it how i liked it. keep up with the updates so you know what happens next. thx for reading!*_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 The Nightmare's Over**

She woke up very early the next morning. She must've been anxious. That seems to be the only reason why. She spent a few minutes thinking on her bed. Her mind automatically went to her mother. She was sure today was the day she had to face her in the palace. She was starting to have doubts if she could. Even though she was cruel to her, she was still her mother. She sighed as she got up from the bed and headed to the door.

When she went up to it, she heard soft snoring from behind it. She placed her ear on the door to hear better. She grew curious as it was still there. She finally opened it and was surprised to find Ryuji on the couch. She slowly walked toward him, careful to not make noise. She wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to wake him and she didn't want to be caught staring. That would be awkward. She took a second to look at his sleeping face. She chuckled softly. He looked like a cute baby.

"So this is where he was." She heard a voice. She turned to see Morgana by the door.

"Morning Mona." Himari said. Morgana nodded his head and trotted up to her.

"This guy is good at nothing but worrying us." He said. "I can't believe he fell asleep over here."

"Did he go to the room at all?" Himari asked.

"Yeah, but I guess he must've woken up and came here for some reason." Morgana replied. He let out a sigh. "He's really gotten himself wrapped up this time." Himari nodded with a sad face.

"Yeah. He told me last night." She said. "How bad was it, exactly?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Morgana replied. "He never really told us any details. Can't say I blame him. You should've seen him when we dealt with Kamoshida."

"That teacher at Shujin? Yeah, I heard of him." She said. "His crimes were unbelievable, especially with that girl who almost died."

"Yeah. That was Lady Ann's friend." Morgana said. Himari looked down. "But Ryuji also endured his abuse."

"What?" Himari exclaimed. She looked back Ryuji, who was still sleeping soundly.

"Did he mention his leg to you?" Morgana asked. Himari nodded at him. "It was Kamoshida's doing. Ryuji was fed up with his abuse and he stood up to him. It didn't end well." Morgana scratched his head. "Kamoshida broke his leg in retaliation and claimed it in self-defence." Himari balled her fists up.

"Such bullshit." She said. "Adults can be so ruthless."

"Yeah, more than we can imagine." Morgana said. "Why are you up so early anyway?"

"Nothing, I just feel a little anxious." She said. "And what about yourself?" Morgana tilted his head at Ryuji.

"What do you think?" He said. Himari let out a small smile. She nealt down to him and scratched his head. Morgana let out a soft purr.

"You should go back. I'll keep an eye on him." She said. Morgana looked up at her for a second in silence. He then nodded his head and walked back toward the doors. Himari slowly sat on the edge of the couch next to his head. Ryuji slightly stirred but he didn't wake up. Himari chuckled again. She couldn't help but smile as she stared at his relaxed, sleeping face. It's the first time she's seen him this relaxed since the first time they met. She then looked at his nappy blonde. She suddenly felt the urge to rub it. She gulped as she slowly raised her hand over his head. He moved a little, which startled her a bit but she sighed when he didn't wake up. She gently placed her hand on his hair. It was a lot smoother than she thought and warmer. Her smile grew bigger when she rubbed her fingers through it.

"Mom..." She heard him say softly. His face looked a little strain. She grew a little concerned and thought of what to do. An idea popped her head right then. She looked down at him again. She smoothed his hair again, took in a deep breath and started to sing softly.

 _Dancing bears, painted wings_. _Things I almost remember_. _And a song someone sings_. _Once upon a December_

 _Someone holds me safe and warm_. _Horses prance through a silver storm_. _Figures dancing gracefully_. _Across my memory_

 _Far away, long ago_. _Glowing dim as an ember_. _Things my heart used to know_. _Things it yearns to remember_

 _And a song someone sings_ , _Once upon a December_

She saw his face soften, which relieved her. She felt his hair through her fingers one last time as she smiled again.

"Sweet dreams, Ryuji." She said softly. She leaned to his forehead and gave him a gentle kiss.

* * *

A couple hours passed until everybody finally woke up. They ordered breakfast again and ate anxiously. Everybody was nervous about today, especially Himari.

"Today's the day." Haru said.

"Did you guys get the calling card done?" Yusuke asked. Makoto nodded her head. She took out a red card from her pocket and slid it to the center of the table. Himari grabbed it and started to read.

"So once she reads this, we can steal the treasure?" Himari asked.

"Yep. It'll be our one and only shot." Morgana said. "We need to make sure we're prepared. Especially you, Himari."

"You will be able to handle this, right?" Akira asked. Everyone looked at her with concern. Himari looked down for a second and started tapping the table anxiously.

"I'm not sure." Himari said. "After all, she's still my mother."

"Yes, but just remember that you're not actually hurting her." Yusuke said.

"It's just her shadow." Morgana said. "Her real self won't even know what happened."

"And just remember all the stuff she's done to you. Once we do this, she'll never hurt you again." Ann added.

"You all make it sound so easy." Himari said.

"It will be." Ryuji said. "You doubt it at first, but once you get there, you'll remember why your doing this in the first place." Himari stared at his concerned face for a second.

"You'll be able to do it, Himari." Futaba said. "And we'll all be there to help." They all nodded to her. Himari was still unsure of herself. She let out a sigh as she looked down again. She closed her eyes and thought of everything her mother put her through. She wanted it to be over more than anything. She can't stand it any longer and with everything she's seen in the palace, she knows where her mother's true intentions are. She knew she had to do this if she wanted it to end. There was no other way and there's no turning back, not after how far they've come.

"Let's do it!" She said. The group smiled at her and nodded. They all turned to Akira, who had a mischievous grin on his face.

"You heard her. Now let's go change a heart." He said.

* * *

Satsuki was sitting on a chair in the living room, drinking coffee. She had a slight angry look on her face.

"Where is that girl?" She said. "She's trying my patience again." It was then Himari burst through the door and ran up to her.

"Mother!" She shouted.

"Don't scream! Don't you know that could ruin your vocals?" Satsuki said. "Where have you been?"

"That's not important right now!" Himari replied. She held out the card to her. "Look what I found in the mail." Stasuki took the card from her.

"What is this?" She asked. She looked at it and started to read. " _Satsuki Aisaka, your abuse against Himari Aisaka hasn't gone unnoticed. Your greed for your own luxury over love for your own daughter is a shameful and disgraceful act as a parent and a mother. You will pay by confessing your crimes to the people and freeing Himari from your cruelty. Sincerely, The Phantoms._ " Satsuki slammed the card on the table next to her, startling Himari.

"Who the hell do they think they are?! Do they really think they'll be able to make a difference with me?" She said angrily. The world suddenly went dark. Satsuki's shadow appeared where she was sitting. She had an evil grin on her face.

"They really think they can come in and ruin everything I've built? Well, let them come. I'll tear them down before they even get the chance." She said grimly. The world then went back to normal. Satsuki stood up from her chair. She looked at Himari sternly.

"You stay here." She said. "I need to alert the police about this." Himari nodded in response. Satsuki quickly left the room, slamming the door as she went out. After a few seconds, Himari texted the others, telling them it was done. After they told her they were on their way, she looked over at the door again.

"I hope you're ready Mother." She said.

* * *

Once they got together at the house, they went over the plan one last time before they headed to the Metaverse. Himari was still anxious but she was more determined than ever to finish this. When they got to the palace, they immediately went for the treasure. The glowing orb they saw the other day was now replaced with a golden microphone and they were all surprised to see it.

"This is the treasure?" Ann said.

"This... is unexpexted." Morgana said.

"Why would something like this be the treasure?" Ryuji asked. They then heard a loud slam behind them. They turned to see Stasuki's shadow there with a glare on her face.

"Well, hello again Phantom Thieves." She said. "I gotta say, I'm impressed you were able to get here. You were even able to get passed my daughter, not that she would've put up much of a fight." Ryuji stepped forward out of reflex but Himari grabbed his shoulder tightly, stopping him.

"You've done enough, Satsuki." Akira said. "Your abuse ends today." Satsuki chuckled a little. Himari started hearing something move behind her. She turned around and saw the mic being dragged away by a chain.

"Guys, the mic!" She exclaimed. They all turned around but before they could act, it was pulled away toward Satsuki. When they turned back, she was surrounded by floating objects that were on the wall.

"What the hell?" Ann exclaimed. Satsuki gave them an evil smirk.

"Didn't you listen to what my daughter told you?" She said. "These babies aren't just for show." She then shot the chains straight at them. They were all able to dodge them succesfully.

"Like mother, like daughter." Futaba said. "Seems like Satsuki might have similar abilities as shadow Himari did but don't let your guard down. Who knows what she'll try."

"Don't worry." Himari said. "We've got this." The Thieves nodded in response and engaged in battle. Satsuki was a lot stronger and her fighting style changed depending on what item she used. She had low, long-range attacks with chains and whips and strong, close-range attacks with horse whips and paddles. She also had a tricky move that could confuse them easily. It was tough but they got her to about half of her health. The items suddenly increased in size and she even brought in some weapons like swords and daggers.

"I've had enough time playing with you. Now the real fight begins." She said grimly.

"She's looking serious now. We better be careful." Makoto said.

"Guys, look out!" Futaba yelled. They suddenly felt something tighten on their ankles. They looked down and saw black ooze around their feet, eminating from the ground.

"Shit! We can't move!" Ryuji said.

"Keep your guard up! She's going to unleash a strong attack." Futaba said. They all guarded, like she said. Satsuki then brought the pattle out and gave it a gigantic swing across. They took a lot of damage from them but they didn't falter. The ooze disappeared from their feet and they were able to move again.

"That was close. We need to be careful the next time she does that." Haru said.

"I'll let you know when she'll do it again. Keep your guards up. It seems her attacks are going to stronger from here." Futaba said.

"Alright, let's get this done quickly." Makoto said. She healed everyone up and they started attacking again. With the bigger weapons, it became difficult to dogde her attacks. They also had to keep an eye out for a strong attack with the swords she sometimes unleashed. The got her almost down to the last of her health before she brought the ooze out again. Futaba luckily increased their defense while they were guarding. This proved very useful as they not take mush damage as they did before. They didn't hold back this time. They attacked her with everything they had, not letting up at all. After a while more, they had finally beaten her, making her collapse to the ground in fear as they surrounded her.

"It'a over, Satsuki." Yusuke said.

"Just give us the treasure." Haru said.

"And you better apologize to Himari." Akira said.

"Apologize? I gave her everything! I'm the reason she's not with the others, being stepped on by people who wouldn't give a damn." Satsuki said.

"That's a load of bullshit and you know it!" Ryuji said.

"You took her talents and used them for your own luxury while you abused her. In fact, you should probably be thanking her." Makoto said.

"Without her, you would be nothing." Morgana said. Satsuki looked up at Himari.

"You're right." She said. "I just didn't go back to that life. I didn't want to have nothing again."

"You should've thought of that before. Now you'll definitely have nothing." Ann said. Satsuki started crying then. Himari bit her lip to keep herself in check.

"I deserve it." Satsuki sobbed. "I had no right to do this to you." She wiped her face and looked up at Himari again. "I'm so sorry, dear." Himari stared at her for a second before looking away. Satsuki started crying again as her shadow disappeared. In her place was the golden microphone. Morgana suddenly jumped on it and started rubbing against it.

"Finally! The treasure!" He said with a husky voice.

"Seriously? What's wrong with you?" Futaba said. They suddenly heard a crumble from above.

"What's happening?" Himari asked as she looked around.

"Oh no. It's falling apart." Haru said.

"We need to leave! Come on, hurry!" Akira said. They all quickly started running to escape. The building was quickly falling apart as they tried to find a way out. With the sex toys and parts of the building falling down, it was hard to get around anywhere. They got to the second floor when they realized the exit was blocked with debris.

"Ah crap! What are we going to do?!" Ann said.

"There has to be a way out!" Yusuke said. They looked around quickly for any sign of an exit.

"Guys, there's an opening over there!" Himari pointed out. They quickly made their way to a huge opening in the wall. The only problem was it was still a little high.

"Will we be ok if we jump?" Haru asked.

"There's no guarentee but we don't have a choice." Futaba replied. Himari looked around the room for anything. Her eyes then landed on a long chain on the ground. She quickly grabbed it and brought it over.

"Will this work?" She asked.

"Yes! It's perfect!" Ann said.

"Let's hurry. We don't have much time." Makoto said. They quickly fastened the chain to something and started making their way down. They tried to go as fast as they could while also being careful. Haru and Futaba went first, Yusuke and Akira went next, Morgana and Ann came down, and then Ryuji and Himari quickly made their way down. They were about to catch their breaths when the building started crumbling even more and the top started falling toward them.

"RUN!" Morgana screamed. They wasted no time and quickly ran from the building. Ryuji looked up for a second and saw piece break off from another and started falling toward them quickly.

"Look out!" He shouted. The Thieves maneuvered away from the debris. Ryuji instinctly jumped over to Himari, pushing her out of the way and landing on the floor.

"Are you alright?" He asked franticly. She quickly nodded at him. As they quickly stood up and regrouped, they all look up at the building and watched as it crumbled down to rubble before the world became blurry.

* * *

When the world became clear again, they found themselves back in the real world in front of Himari's house.

"Why do Palaces always collapse when we beat the owner?" Ann said with a sigh. "We could end up dying because of that!"

"Just deal with it already." Ryuji groaned. He leaned on the wall of the house looking very tired.

"Who has the treasure? What is it?" Morgana asked. They all looked at each other before Haru held out her hands that were holding a trophy with the same golden microphone.

"It's a trophy." Yusuke said. "Whose is it?"

"It's mine." Himari said. She walked up and took it from Haru's hands. She looked at for a little bit. She had a noticable sad look on face. "This is the first award I've ever won." She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "To think such a petty thing would be what fuels her desires." She opened her eyes again and looked at the group. She had a irritated look now.

"Are you ok?" Ryuji asked. Himari looked back at the trophy for a second.

"What's going to happen now?" She asked.

"Well, seeing that we were successful, the change of heart should happen but it might take some time." Morgana replied. Himari nodded. She looked down at the trophy one last time before holding it out to them.

"I don't want it." She said. "You guys can keep it."

"Are you sure?" Akira asked. She nodded her head in response. Akira hesitantly took the trophy from her hands.

"So what are you going to do while we wait?" Haru asked.

"Well, I think I it'd be better if I stay here." Himari said. "Once the change of heart happens, the media will most likely be all over this."

"That sounds like the best plan." Yusuke said.

"They'll be asking you questions about the abuse. Are you sure you'll be able to handle it yourself?" Makoto asked.

"I'll come up with something." Himari replied. The group looked at each other. They weren't sure what else to do so they nodded to each other.

"Well, I guess we'll see you later." Futaba said. Himari nodded at them. They each slowly started walking back toward the hotel. Ryuji was the last to start to leave. He notice she still looked a little upset and uneasy.

"Are you sure you're alright, Himair?" He asked her. She avoid his gaze and crossed her arms.

"I don't know." She said. "I think I just need some time." Ryuji felt a sting to his heart. He hated seeing her like this but he didn't know what else to do. He nodded his head to her.

"If you need any help, you can talk to me." He said. It took her a second before she finally nodded her head. Ryuji then left for the hotel. Before he got any farther, he looked back at her for a last time. She was holding her head and looked very worried. He quickly turned around and kept walking. His chest felt heavy and he was beyond worried but he couldn't do anything about it. He silently groaned at himself. He hated feeling this way.

* * *

A few days had passed since they went to the palace. They haven't heard anything from Satsuki or Himari other than her telling them what her mother's been up to, which was mostly staying in her office and not talking to Himari at all. They all told her that it was natural and a good sign but they all couldn't help but worry, especially Ryuji. He wanted to see Himari so bad and check up on her but they all agreed it'd be best until Satsuki showed any sign of the change of heart. Ryuji tried to be as patient as he could but he was at his wits end by now and even more worried.

"What if it didn't work this time? What if we did something wrong?" He said as he paced around the living room.

"Ryuji, calm down. We did everything like we always do and everything happened like it was supposed to." Morgana said.

"You're thinking way too much. You seriously need to chill out." Futaba said.

"I can't help it! We haven't heard from Himari in days! I hope nothing bad happened." He said.

"Ryuji, I'm sure everything is fine. You need to take a deep breath and relax." Yusuke said. Ryuji held his head as he sat down on the couch.

"Has she said anything at all?" Haru asked. Makoto checked her phone but quickly shook her head.

"Not since the last time." She said.

"Have you guys check the news?" Akira asked.

"She should've told us something." Ann said. "But I'll check." She went to her phone and started looking.

"Himari was acting strangely when we left. I hope it wasn't anything major." Morgana said.

"Seeing that trophy really bummed her out. This was a lot harder on her than we expected." Makoto said.

"She knew what she was getting into and she still took the risk." Haru said. "We should give her the space. I think it's the best thing we should do."

"Or should we?" Ann suddenly said. They all turned to her curiously. "This came in 4 hours ago." She placed her phone on the table showing a news video. After everyone crowded around, she played the video.

" _In an extremely surprising turn of events recently, we just recieved word that Satsuki Aisaka, mother of famous young singer and violinist Himari Aisaka, turned herself in to the authorities after admitting to abusing her daughter for eleven years._ " The news reporter said. " _This came as a shock for everyone in the community, especially Himari's fans, who were appalled by the news and sent their immediate support to her. Since the incident, we haven't gotten word from Himari herslef but her lawyer was willing to give us as much information as possible._ " The feed then cut to well-groomed, older man standing in front of Himari's house surrounded by several reporters.

" _Mr._ _Nakamura, what are the plans for Himari now? What will she do without her mother?"_ One reporter asked.

" _Well, Himari is rightfully of age so she will take control of her life, take her rightful assets and whatever her choices she makes will be made by her alone._ " Nakamura said.

" _What of the tour? Is it still going to continue?_ " Another reporter asked.

" _Unfortunetly, Himari has decided to cancel her tour and take some time to herself._ " There was a murmur in the crowd. " _I'm sorry, but that was her final decision._ "

"She's cancelling her tour? She's really doing this?" Yusuke said.

"Shh, there's more." Makoto said.

" _You said she's going to take some time. What do you mean by that?_ " One reporter asked.

" _I won't divulge into the details but she plans to leave Japan for a couple of weeks for some privacy to herself._ _I'm sorry, but that's all the questions I'm taking. Thank you again for the support._ " With that, Nakamura started heading to the house as the reporters started swarming and overlapping hin with questions before the feed cut back to the reporter. The group stared at each other in surprise. They switched their eyes between the video and themselves before the video finally ended, leaving them in silence for a few minutes.

"I can't... I can't believe this." Ann said.

"Is this the reason she hasn't talked to us?" Haru asked.

"Why wouldn't she tell us anything?" Makoto said. Ryuji suddenly got up from the couch, startling everyone.

"I'm about to find out." He said. He started walking toward the door.

"Ryuji! Don't do this!" Futaba said. "You're not thinking straight. You're going to do something stupid!"

"I don't care! I'm still going." He said sternly. He started to reach for the doorknob.

"Ryuji!" Akira suddenly yelled. Ryuji stopped in his tracks and turned to him. "Maybe there's a reason she didn't tell us. Don't make this any worse than it is." Ryuji stared at him intently for a second. He let out a sigh as he turned his body toward him.

"You're right." He said. "But I'm still going. I need to hear what she says." He turned around and went out the door as they continued to call his name.

* * *

He knocked on the door almost violently. He didn't intend to but he was a little riled up. He was about to knock again when Nakamura opened the door.

"Who are you? What's the meaning of this?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, but I want to see Himari. I'm a friend of hers." He said. Nakamura looked inside for a second before turning back to him.

"Don't upset her even more. She's been through enough." He said. He held the door open for him and exited the house. Ryuji looked around for Himari until he saw her step into the room.

"Hi Ryuji." She said in a monotone voice. Ryuji felt himself gulp. He nodded to her in response. She looked down and started fiddling with her fingers. "I assume you saw the news. That's why you're here." Ryuji slowly started walking toward her.

"Why?" He asked. Himari looked up at him. "Why didn't you tell us anything? We were worried sick about you. Couldn't you at least let us know what you were doing?"

"Ryuji..." She started but she then trailed off. Ryuji groaned as he stepped closer.

"Look, I understand that this was probably hard for you but you shouldn't shut us out like that." He continued.

"But Ryuji-" She started but she was startled when he was right up at her face.

"I told you that I wanted to be your friend, we all did. If you expect us to be your friends then you shouldn't leave us out in the dark. You should talk to us. That's what friends are for!" He continued again.

"RYUJI!" Himari suddenly yelled. Ryuji felt her tightly grab his arms. He noticed her eyes were getting watery, which made him feel bad.

"I'm..." He started but Himari shook her head.

"Don't apologize." She said. "You're right. I should've told you guys but..." Her grip loosened on his arms and she looked down.

"What is it?" He asked. "Why didn't you tell us?" She let go of his arms and held her head.

"I don't know." She said. Ryuji shook his head at that.

"No, you do know." He said. Himari quickly looked at him.

"What? What are you saying?" She asked.

"You know exactly why you didn't tell us. I'm not leaving until you tell me." He said.

"Ryuji, please, I just want to be alone." She said. She started walking away from him.

"You could've told us that! Is that the reason why?" He asked.

"No, it's not." She said.

"Then tell me why!" He said his voice slightly raised. "Just tell me why!" Himari suddenly turned and walked up to him quickly.

"Because I couldn't!" She yelled. Ryuji stared at her, slightly confused. Her eyes were now even more watery and her face was strained, as if she was trying to fight back the tears. She let out a sigh as she looked down at the ground.

"What do you mean?" He asked softly. Himari closed her eyes tightly before looking up at him again. A tear escaped her eyes, making Ryuji feel even worse.

"When my mother confessed her crimes, tons of emotions and thoughts just came to me." She said. "I wasn't sure what to do. I've never done anything without her." She let out a sob as she wiped her tears. "When Nakamura met with me, he suggested I should take some time to myself. He said he'd take care of everything." More tears started flowing out of her eyes. Ryuji bit his lip as it started to quiver. She let out a shaky sigh as she wiped more tears.

"I wanted to tell you guys." She continued. "I wanted to so bad but... I just couldn't. It was too hard for me. I didn't what you guys would say or what you'd think of me or..." She covered her mouth at that. "I didn't want you to see me as weak." She looked down as she started crying even more. Ryuji felt his heart drop to his stomach. He never expected he would see her like this. Ever since he met her, she always seemed like she was strong as she could be, even when they told her about the Metaverse, she was still strong. He never saw her as weak, not even now that she was crying. He placed his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at him.

"You never looked weak to me." He said sincerely. He then moved his hands up to her cheeks. "Not since the day I met you, not when you faced your mother and not even now." He gave her a small smile. "I will never see you as weak and I can tell you that none of the others see you that way either." Himari looked at him surprised. she had her mouth ajar a little as she stared into his eyes.

"Ryuji..." She managed to say before the tears started coming out again. She started sobbing uncontrollably as she looked down again Ryuji put his hand on her head and gently pulled her to his chest and hugged her tightly. He willingly let her cry on his chest as he held her closely. He didn't want to let her go, he didn't want her to be alone, he didn't want her to be hurt anymore. He started to feel her return the embrace, making him feel warm and happy again. He closed his eyes as he dug his face into her black hair. It smelled like jasmine and fresh honey. He had no idea how it smelled like both but he loved it anyway. He heard her sobs starting to stop, which is when he let her go.

"I'm sorry." She said as she wiped her tears. "Now I slobbered all over you." Ryuji chuckled softly and shook his head.

"I've had worse shit dumped on me. You've got nothing to worry about." He said. She let out a chuckle. He never thought he would've missed her smile even more. He then thought about her leaving. He didn't want her to leave but he didn't want her to feel secluded or sad here.

"Himari?" He said. She looked at him attentively. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her so bad but he didn't think it would be right. He also didn't know how he would tell her.

"What is it, Ryuji?" She said, grabbing back his attention. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. His nerves were getting to him and millions of doubts came to his mind. How was he going to tell her? What was he going to say? What would she even say? He looked down at her hands. It was then he got an idea. If he couldn't tell her, he could at least do one thing. He took her hand in one and reached into his pocket with the other. He brought it out and placed the necklace in her hand. She looked down at it in surprised.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "This is your mother's. Why are you giving it to me?" Ryuji looked at her and let out sigh.

"I want you to have it." He said. "Keep it to remind yourself what I told you today." Himari looked down at it again before looking at him again.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Ryuji smiled and looked down at her hand. He closed her hand on it and held it firmly.

"I'm sure." He said. Himari looked up at him again. Her face was shocked at first but it evolved into a small smile.

"Thank you." She said. Ryuji returned the smile and let go of her hand.

"I gotta go." He said. "The others are probably going crazy right now." Himari laughed.

"Yeah, they probably are." She said. "Just so you know, I'm leaving tomorrow at 9 am. I'd like to say goodbye to everybody." Ryuji tensed up a little but he smiled anyway.

"Yeah, we'll be there." He said. Himari smiled.

"Well, see you later, Ryuji. And thanks again for everything." She said. Ryuji nodded his head.

"Anytime." He replied. He then headed out of ths door. When he was outside, he let out a sigh and stared at the ground sadly.

"Goddammit." He said. "Why was it so hard?" He looked back at the door. He shook his head and started walking. "You blew it Ryuj, just like you always do."

 ** _*ah man even i got a little emotional during this. i hope you guys liked this chapter. i put all i could in this thing. now only one thing remains but will he be able to do it? did he blow his chance or can he make it up? find out in next chapter. stay tuned!*_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 Now or Never**

"You dumbass!" Ann yelled as she hit his head.

"Ow! Ann, why do you always gotta hit me?" Ryuji said. Ever since he got back to their room, they immediately swarmed him and put him on the couch, scolding him, not letting speak at all.

"You deserve it! Can't you ever think before you do something stupid?" Ann said.

"You never fail to scare people away." Morgana said.

"I didn't scare her away!" Ryuji said. "If you'd guys let me talk, I'd tell you."

"Was it really necessary for you to go stomping to her house? After everything that's happened, you should know better." Yusuke said.

"Guys, shut up!" Akira said. "Just let him talk already!"

"Thanks man." Ryuji said. He let out a sigh as he calmed down. "I will admit at first, I was a little... pissed when I went there."

"That was obvious from the way you left." Futaba commented. Ryuji looked at her irritated for a second before continuing.

"I started asking her why she didn't tell us. She wouldn't tell me at first but I kept pushing." He said.

"Oh, you idiot." Morgana said. Ryuji groaned at that.

"Ok, I'm done with this. If you guys won't give me a break, I'm not going to tell you." He said as he got up and started walking away.

"Ryuji, wait!" Makoto said. Ryuji stopped but didn't turn around. "We're sorry. We don't mean to be rude. It's just we've been concerned for Himari since all this started. We're a little on edge." Ryuji still didn't turn around.

"Say you're sorry, Mona." Haru suddenly said.

"What?! Why should I?" He said.

"For calling him an idiot." Akira said.

"Oh, come on! It's not the worst thing I've called him." Morgana said.

"Mona!" Akira said in an angry tone. "Now isn't the time. This isn't about you or him, it's about Himari, ok?" Ryuji finally turned around. Morgana switched his gaze between him and Akira before sighing.

"I'm sorry, Ryuji." He said. Ryuji could tell it was half-hearted but he shrugged it off.

"Anyway, what happened? What did she tell you?" Ann said. Ryuji sighed again.

"She told me she wanted to tell us, but she couldn't. She was... afraid of what we think of her." Ryuji said. They all looked at each other a little surprised. "I spent a little time comforting her, but she... she's still going. She's leaving tomorrow at 9. She said she want us to be there so she could say goodbye." There was silence between all of them. Ryuji felt tense after saying the last part.

"Well, at least we can stop worrying so much now that we know the truth." Futaba said.

"It still sucks that she's going to be leaving." Ann said. "We may never see her again." Ryuji silently gasped at that. He quickly turned away from them again.

"Ryuji?" Haru said.

"I'm fine." He said. "I... I need to be alone." He quickly walked into the closest room and closed the door. Ann started to walk toward it but Akira put his arm out.

"Don't." He said. "We've upset him enough already."

"Great. Now we have another one to deal with." Morgana said. Futaba suddenly grabbed him by the tail, making him yowl.

"Do you ever shut up, stupid cat?" She said.

"You seriously need give him a break, Mona. You're getting really mean with him." Makoto said.

"Why is he being so sensitive about all this?What's his deal?" Morgana said.

"You're telling me you can't tell?" Akira said. Morgana looked at him weirdly. Akira laughed and looked at the others. "Please tell me you guys noticed."

"He's not exactly great at hiding this sort of stuff." Futaba said.

"Though he did a good job at first." Ann said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Morgana asked. The group all smiled at him.

"For once, the cat knows nothing." Yusuke said.

"It's ok, Mona." Haru said. "It can be hard to tell when somebody's in love." Morgana quickly turned to them.

"In love?" He said. He looked back the door for a second. "I thought it was just a useless crush. How did you guys notice it?"

"Like Futaba said, it wasn't that hard to see." Makoto said. They all laughed at this.

"But in all seriousness, are we going to check on him?" Yusuke asked.

"I'll do it. I think it's better if I go alone too." Akira said. They all nodded in agreement. Akira then walked to the door and knocked lightly. "Ryuji? Is it ok if we talk?" There was a second of silence before Ryuji responded with a yes. He slowly opened the door and entered. Ryuji was sitting on the bed, leaning over and holding his head. Akira closed the door and sat down next to him.

"Sorry about leaving off like that." Ryuji said. "I was being stupid."

"You don't need to apologize, man." Akira said. "We completely understand why you did."

"Yeah, I heard." Ryuji said. He let out a long sigh. "Doesn't matter anymore. I screwed it up, like I do with everything."

"Hey, don't be such a downer." Akira said. "You still have a chance tomorrow. You could convince her to stay." Ryuji scoffed at that.

"Yeah, right. Like's she's gonna stay just 'cause I ask her." Ryuji said.

"You love her, don't you?" Akira said. Ryuji finally looked at him with slight curiousity. "You could tell her tomorrow. I guarentee you she'll stay."

"Please. That's such a petty reason. How do you know she'll even want to stay? Or even if she feels the same way?" Ryuji said.

"Wow. Never thought you'd have this much confidence when you could get a girl." Akira joked. Ryuji looked at him with an irritated face. "Calm down, I'm kidding!" Ryuji groaned and layed back on the bed, frustrated. Akira inched closer to him and gave him a serious face.

"Look, all joking aside, I honestly think you have a real shot." He said. "She trusts you a lot and you guys seem to have a real connection."

"You're getting really cheesy, you know." Ryuji said. The both laughed a little at that. "You seriously think I could have a chance with her?" Akira shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't want to get your hopes up, but I really believe you could." He admitted. Ryuji gave him a small smile. "Just don't pull something like that again. You scared the shit out of us." Ryuji laughed again.

"I think I already got that from Ann." He said. Akira smiled. It's been a while since he's seen him actually look happy ever since they've come here. Now all he could do was hope everything would go right tomorrow.

"Where are the others? You think they're still freaking out?" Ryuji suddenly asked. Akira then stood up from the bed.

"I don't know. I'll check." He said. He walked over to the door and opened it. It was then the whole team stumbled through the doorway, falling on top of each other.

"Ugh, Inari! How are you so heavy?" Futaba shouted.

"Am I really?" He asked.

"Just be glad you're not on the bottom, Futaba." Ann said as she struggled to move. "Could you guys get off already?!"

"We're trying!" Makoto replied. They all slowly rolled off of each other and crawled their way through the doorway before they finally noticed Ryuji and Akira looking at them weirdly. They all quickly got up, looking embarressed.

"Sorry. We couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Haru said in a nice tone.

"Yeah, 'course you couldn't." Ryuji said, rolling his eyes. He looked out the doorway. "Where the hell's Mona?"

"Oh, he's there." Yusuke said. "He's just to embarressed to show himself." Morgana then ran up to him.

"I am NOT!" He shouted.

"At least by Ryuji." Ann added.

"You too, Lady Ann?" Morgana said in a sad tone.

"So you're finally gonna confess your love for Himari tomorrow?" Futaba said with such interest.

"This is so cliche, you know? Then again, Akira did suggest this plan." Makoto said.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Akira said. Makoto slightly giggled.

"What are you going to say to her?" Haru asked. Ryuji rubbed his head awkwardly.

"Geez, could you guys chill out?" He said. "I thought I was the awkward one."

"When did you guys even get so interested?" Akira asked. They all looked at him weirdly.

"Um, it's Ryuji. Nothing big ever happens with this guy." Yusuke said. Ryuji then sat up from the bed.

"Ok, now you're gonna get it!" He said. He quickly jumped at him and started wrestling him to the ground.

"Get off! Somebody help!" Yusuke yelled.

"Sorry Inari. You got yourself into this one." Futaba said with a smirk.

"Let's get dinner. I'm actually starving for once." Makoto said.

"Yes, let's." Haru agreed. The others agreed and started to head out the door. Before he left, Akira turned back to Ryuji, who now had Yusuke pinned to the ground.

"What do you want, Ryuji?" He asked.

"Just get me the usual." He said through his gritted teeth. Akira nodded and left the room, silently laughing at Yusuke's cries for help.

* * *

Ryuji stared up at the ceiling as he laid on the bed. After they had dinner, they talked a little about what they were doing tomorrow and later doing random things before they departed to go to sleep. Akira and Morgana had already fallen asleep but Ryuji was having trouble. He was completely nervous about seeing Himari again. All he could think about was what the hell he was going to say to her. How was he going to be able to confess to her when he has no idea if she feels the same way? He sat up and rubbed his face in frustration.

"Why is this so effin' hard?" He whispered. He slowly laid back down and let out a sigh. Could she really love a guy like him? She's a beautiful, talented, amazing girl and he's... a troublesome, hot headed, delinquent. Compared to her, he's nothing.

"Are you seriously still doubting yourself?" He heard someone say. He turned to see Akira rubbing his eyes and stretching.

"Go back to sleep." Ryuji said.

"I would if you kept still." Akira said groggily.

"You guys are still awake?" Another voice said. They both turned to see Morgana looking at them while letting out a yawn.

"You can blame this guy over here." Akira said. Ryuji rolled his eyes.

"I said you could go back to sleep." He insisted. Morgana suddenly jumped onto his chest. He flinched but he didn't swat him off.

"Does this have to do with Himari?" Morgana asked.

"What do you care?" He retorted. "You were insulting me ever since I came here."

"You guys can be so loud, you know." They all heard. They turned to the other bed to find Yusuke sitting up.

"You seriously have a weird habit of appearing out of nowhere, you know." Akira said. Yusuke chuckled, stood up and walked over to the bed and sat down. Ryuji then groaned and rolled his eyes.

"So I guess we're all just going to gang up on my love life now, right?" He said.

"Cheer up. This might be a lifetime opportunity for all of us." Morgana said. "But if it makes you feel any better, we just want to help."

"You deserve to be happy, Ryuji. Especially after everything that's happened these past few days." Yusuke said. Ryuji was a bit surprised on how much they cared about this.

"You know there's no way you're going to weasel out of this. We're making sure you tell her." Akira said. Ryuji rubbed his face.

"Ok, let's say I do tell her. How do we know she's going to stay just because of that?" He asked.

"I thought we already talked about this." Akira said.

"Yeah, but I still don't think it's gonna make a difference." Ryuji replied.

"Are you really that blind?" Yusuke said, catching him off guard. "Have you seen the way she looks at you? Have you notice how she always sought you out for anything?"

"You should've saw her yesterday." Morgana said. Ryuji looked at him curiously. He slowly sat up, letting Morgana get off.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. "What happened yesterday?"

"Remember when you fell asleep on the couch?" Morgana said. Ryuji nodded his head. "Did you happen to remember anything else? Did you hear anything or whatever?" Ryuji thought back, trying to remember anything at all. He remembered having a nightmare, though it wasn't that bad. Before anything got bad, something made it stop. He felt an outside force sort of sooth his tension. He also felt something. It was faint but it made him feel safe.

"I can't remember exactly." He said. "But I know there was something." He held his forehead as thought more. The more he thought, the more he couldn't remember.

"Try harder." Morgana said. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. He thought through it carefully as best as he could. He thought about when he started feeling safe in his dreams and his tension died down. He knew there was something there. It helped him calm down and helped his dreams subside. He thought harder, trying to remember what it was. It was then that it hit him. He remembered hearing something. It was soothing and beautiful. He remembered a voice, one that he's only heard once but never will he forget. No one on Earth sings like that.

"She was there." He said softly. He looked up at the others almost excited. "She was there. She sang to me. She made me feel..." He stopped to take it all in. He couldn't believe it.

"I didn't think anything of it at first, but after what these guys told me, it was clear as day." Morgana said. "You shouldn't doubt yourself so much, Ryuji. You have no idea how much this girl actually cares about you." Ryuji still couldn't believe it. He sat there for a second still trying to process all this.

"You really shouldn't worry about it. I'm sure everything will be fine." Yusuke said.

"Not if we stay up this late." Akira said. "Ann will probably have to drag us out of the bed if we stay up any longer."

"No argument here." Morgana said. "Lady Ann can be quite violent."

"You don't have to tell me." Ryuji mumbled as he rubbed his head.

"Let's go to sleep then. We'll worry about this tomorrow." Yusuke said.

"I told you that before." Ryuji groaned. Yusuke returned to his bed and they all went back to sleep. Ryuji still had his doubts running through his head as he tried to sleep but he knew he had to do this. There was no going back, not now. He was going to do this and nothing was going to stop him.

* * *

The morning seemed to go by a lot slower than usual for Himari. After she packed the last of her things, she got in the car and was driven to the airport by Nakamura. She couldn't help but feel anxious along the way. She wasn't sure how she was going to react when she saw the others or what they would say. She placed her hand over her chest. Her heart was beating violently against her chest. She exhaled to try and calm herself.

She suddenly felt her fingers wrap around the chain. She looked down as she pulled the necklace into view. She held the gem in the palm of her hand. She could faintly see the letters on the gem, forming the sentence around it. She smiled as she thought back to the other night. She was saddened by the fact that she may never see Ryuji after this. It might never be the same anymore. Her car door suddenly opened, almost startling her.

"We're here, Himari." He said. She nodded her head and stepped out of the car. She looked around the empty lot. The only thing that was their was the private plane standing before.

"They haven't come?" She asked.

"It doesn't seem so. We can't wait that long for them if they don't come." Nakamura said. Himari looked around again for any sign of them. They both waited there for a little while more before they heard a car revving in the distance. They turned to see two taxi cares coming up. As soon as they parked, the group quickly exited the cars and started running toward her. Himari smiled as walked toward them. They all looked so overjoyed to see her, it almost made her laugh.

"Himari!" Futaba yelled as she hugged her tightly. "Why did you have to worry us so much?" Himari laughed as she petted her.

"I'm sorry Futaba." She said. She looked up at the others. "I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Don't fret, Himari. Ryuji told us everything." Yusuke said. Himari looked at Ryuji, who almost looked nervous for some reason.

"Everything?" She said with a smirk. Ryuji looked away from her, slight going red.

"We completely understand how you feel, Himari." Makoto said. "There is no need feel ashamed at all." Haru walked up to her and pulled Futaba off of her.

"We all know what you're going through and we don't think of you any different than we did before." She said as she walked back. Himari smiled.

"But..." Akira said suddenly. Himari looked at them again. They had worried faces. "Is this really necessary? Do you really need to leave?" Himari sighed at that.

"You should stay. You'll be able to do more here with us." Morgana said. "You could become part of the Phantom Thieves! You could help more people going through the similar problems like you."

"Wouldn't you like to do that?" Ann asked. "Don't you want to help others like we helped you?" Himari held her head.

"I don't think I could." She said. "This has all been hard on me. I just don't think I'm up for this."

"Why not?" Akira said. "Why wouldn't you be up for it?" Himari looks at them sadly.

"I just don't think it's my place." She said. "I would love to help other people, but I'm just..." She let out a sigh as she paused for a second. "I just feel lost." She turned away from them, not wanting to see their faces. "I'm sorry, but I just don't know what to do." She expected them to speak up but there was silence, which made her feel a little hopeless. She suddenly felt someone place their hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Ryuji standing in front of her.

"Stay, Himari." He said sincerely. "Please stay. You may feel lost right now, but if you stick with us, we can help you find yourself." Himari stared into his sincere eyes for a minute before looking down.

"Ryuji..." She thought before speaking again. "I don't know if it will be that easy. What if you-" She was interrupted when she felt his lips press against hers. She stood wide eye and frozen, not knowing what to think or do. The others had their mouths open wide as they stared in pure shock. After a bit, Ryuji finally parted his lips from Himari's. Her mouth was slightly open as she stared at him in shock. The sudden realization hit him as he realized what he just did.

"Himari..." He said. He saw her blink, almost coming back to her senses. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't- I wasn't thinking, I..." He was at loss of words as he grew increasingly nervous. He suddenly felt her softly place her finger on his lips, silencing him. He looked at her a little worried but she didn't have a mad face as he expected. She took her finger off and he felt her wrap her arms around his neck. Before he could react, she brought her face closer and kissed him back. He was shocked at first but he then he put his arms around her and started kissing her back.

"Awww." Haru said softly. She had a huge smile on her face and her hands cupped together.

"Well deserved, I'd say." Yusuke said.

"And about time, too." Ann said, chuckling. Akira had a smug look on his face. He looked over at Morgana, who was perched on his shoulder.

"You owe me one of your lives." He said. Morgana groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it." He said. Akira laughed as he looked back at the couple. They gave each other one last kiss before finally parting. They looked at each other for a second before they both smiled at each other.

"I honestly didn't think you'd be the one to do it." She said, jokingly. Ryuji rolled his eyes.

"Great. Now I have to hear shit from you too. I've got others to deal with, you know." He said. Himari laughed at this. She glanced over at the group again before looking back at the plane. Nakamura was stand there, waiting patiently. Himari looked at them again.

"I'll be back." She said. She quickly ran off to Nakamura. Ryuji stared at her happily. He suddenly felt someone's arm wrap around him, making him bend over with them.

"Nice job Ryuji!" He heard Futaba yell. She started rubbing her knuckle on his head. Ryuji quickly broke from her hold and rubbed his head. Before he could say anything, Ann suddenly hugged him from behind.

"Looks like one of your stupid moves actually worked, Casanova!" She said, giggling. They all then surrounded him and grouped hugged, laughing joyfully. Ryuji wasn't sure what to think at first but he eventually found himself laughing with them. He's never felt happier than this moment right now.

* * *

After a while of Himari talking to Nakamura about her change of mind, they all took a ride back to Himari's house. They spent the rest of the day celebrating and having fun at the house, just like the night they all met. It was the best time they've had together since these past few days. After they were too tired to party anymore, they got together in one bedroom and started talking like before.

"So what's Nakamura going to do about all this?" Haru asked. "You know how the media is. They'll find out eventually."

"And what are going to do?" Yusuke also asked. "Are you going to keep performing?"

"Well, I did talk to Nakamura about all this. He said he'll handle the media. He's done it before so he shouldn't have a problem with it." Himari replied. "And about my career, I'm still going to write songs. I love doing it. At least now I can do things at my own accord so it won't be as stressful now."

"That's great, Himari." Makoto said. "At least you'll be able to do what you love."

"We'll try not to get in the way of it." Ann said. Himari quickly shook her head at that.

"Oh, you never will. I'll always have time for you guys now." Himari said.

"Yes, but..." Yusuke started. Everyone looked back at him. "We have to return to Shibuya soon. We might not see each other for a while." Everyone looked down with somewhat sad expressions. Ryuji looked over Himari, who looked like she was thinking. After all this, he didn't want to leave her anymore.

"I think I can figure something out." Himari said. "I'll talk to Nakamura about it. He might have a better idea on this." There was a short pause between them.

"Well, let's not worry about it right now then." Akira said. "Let's enjoy the time we have."

"Yeah, Akira's right!" Ann said. "We said we'd party until we drop and we haven't dropped yet."

"Please, don't ever say that again." Ryuji groaned. Ann glared at him.

"I'd have to agree with him too." Futaba said.

"Well, what else was I supposed to say?" Ann yelled. The others laughed as they hung out the rest of the night.

* * *

Partied until they dropped they did. They were so tired that Yusuke and Futaba ended up falling asleep on the couches. The others were able to get to their bedrooms, though some needed help. Ryuji was about to go to his own but Himari asked him to come with her. He wasn't sure why but he had no intention of refusing. They both giggled on their way the bedroom.

"You seem pretty excited." He said. Himari giggled as she pulled him along.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it." She said. "This is a first for me." Ryuji laughed at that.

"Yeah, for me too." He said. "But... what exactly are we doing?" They then got to the door to the bedroom. She turned to him with a reasurring smile.

"Don't worry, we're not doing anything stupid." She said. "After all, you're still underage." Ryuji couldn't help but laugh again as entered the room. The room was pretty spacious with a round bed at the end. There was a desk with a bunch of notes and music scores on it to the right. To the left was another door, presumably the closet with a changing screen next to it. There was a huge stereo system around the bed and a bookshelf next to the desk filled with books. Himari walked over to the closet, pulled some clothes out and went to the screen.

"I'll be a sec." She said. Ryuji nodded as she went behind the screen. He started walking around, looking closer to her room. He stepped closer to her desk and pulled up one of her sheets. He couldn't understand what the title or the words said.

"That's the French one." He heard. He turned to see her dressed in a tank top and shorts. "It took me a while to write that one." Ryuji smiled and looked back at the notes.

"It was great." He said. "Even though I didn't know what the hell you were saying." Himari chuckled.

"I'll be back. Gotta check something real quick." She said and then left the room. Ryuji then walked over to her bookshelf. As he expected, the first few books were about music and stuff. He was surprised to see that there were some manga books there. Some of them he hasn't read but there were a few he was familiar with. His eyes went wide when he saw a book. He quickly took it out and held it to get a better look. He heard a door open and looked to see Himari walking toward him.

"I can't believe this." He said. "This is a limited edition version of the series. How did you..." He stopped himself when he remembered who she was.

"I guess you're a fan." She said. Ryuji smiled greatly as he nodded his head. She giggled as she took the book from his hands and looked at it. "Yeah, it was one of the things my mother allowed me to have. She may have been cruel, but at least she let me have this." She put the book back in it's place. She then handed him a folded set of clothes. "I'm sure you don't want to sleep in your jeans." Ryuji looked down at them curiously.

"Who's are these?" He asked as he took them. Himari had a hint of saddness in her face.

"They're um... they were my dad's." She said timidly. Ryuji nodded his head, understanding. He then walked over to the screen and started to change. Himari gave him some shorts and a t-shirt but he was hesitant to put the shirt on.

"Um, Himari?" He called out.

"Yeah?" He heard.

"I hope you don't mind but, um... I usually don't sleep with shirts." He said. There was a short silence before she spoke again.

"Ok, go ahead." She said. Ryuji took in a shaky breath. He hesitantly stepped out of the screen. Himari was sitting on the bed, playing with her hair. She looked up at him, holding her gaze at him. He noticed she wasn't looking at him but at his torso.

"Um, I'm up here." He said. She finally looks up at him, her face starting to go red. Ryuji laughed as he walked up and sat next to her. She was noticably flustered and looked away from him.

"Sorry, I just..." She started before she let out a shaky chuckle. "I didn't expect you to be that..." She looked over at his torso again before looking away. "Muscular." Ryuji chuckled. Himari quickly hit him on the head. "Don't laugh at me!" Her face was completely red and her voice was pitchy. Ryuji laughed even harder as he fell back on the bed. Himari hit him again, this time in the stomach.

"Ow. Not so hard. Don't you know I have to deal with Ann too?" He said. Himari laid down next to him with a pouty face.

"Then don't laugh at me again." She said. They got themselves comfortable on the bed and laid there in silence for a few seconds, staring at each other. Ryuji had a thought in his mind but he wasn't sure if it was ok to bring it up even though he was overly curious about it.

"You got something on your mind?" She suddenly said. Ryuji chuckled at that.

"What are you, a mind reader?" He asked. Himari smiled. Ryuji was still hesitant to ask but he felt it was ok now.

"Where is... where is your dad?" He asked timidly. The smile left Himari's face but she didn't look sad. She brought her hand up and started massaging his shoulder.

"He left before I was born." She said. She let out a sigh. "I don't know much about him, but I know he was also being abused by my mother. He left her after a while but he didn't know that she was pregnant with me at the time." Ryuji felt a little angry but he tried to keep calm with it. He reached over and put some of her hair behind her ear.

"Guess you deserve an equal trade." He said.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Himari said but Ryuji quickly shook his head.

"No, I want to." He said. He felt himself tense up a little. He played with her hair a little before sighing. "He would drink, a lot. Didn't really matter though, he was a douche anyway. He would usually try to come after me since he knew that's how he got to my mom. After a while, he left us and it made it harder for my mom. I tried to make things easier for her when I tried to get a track scholarship but Kamoshida ruined that by breaking my leg after I stood up to his abuse." He looked up at her. She had a reassuring look on her face. He then felt her hand caress his cheek gently.

"It's not your fault." She said. "It was unfair for you. I'm sure she understood that. A real mother would do anything for her child. I just got a bad batch." Ryuji scooted closer to her. He felt her hair through his hand as he looked at her sincerely.

"You didn't deserve any of it." He said. Himari scooted up to where her head was just below his. She could hear his heartbeat, which was a little fast. She felt him put his arms around her, making her feel safe.

"Nobody ever does." She said softly. Ryuji could smell her hair again. It had the same scent as the night before and he absolutely loved it. He lowered his face to her head and gave her a gentle kiss.

"I love you." He said. He felt her head nudge against his chest.

"I love you too." She said. They laid there together, both eventually falling asleep in each other's arms.

 ** _*right in the feels(i wish my love life was like this) sorry this took a while. i had to do a lot of rewritting cz it never came out right until now. thx for reading and stay tuned. THIS ISNT OVER YET!*_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_*i know that this might confuse the timeline and events from the game in this chapter, but plz bear with it. i really think you might like this if you can just overlook that for now. thx and enjoy!*_**

 **Chapter 9 Moments We Have**

After a few weeks and with school closing in, the gang had to return to Shibuya. They were all a little sad to depart, but Himari assured them that it won't be for long. Although Ryuji was a bit adamant about it, after some heavy persuasion from Himari and the gang, he reluctantly agreed. He wasn't sure how long it was going to be until he saw Himari again, but he willingly waited until then.

School started soon after and everyone dreaded it. Now they have to deal with Palaces and also keep up with school to not arouse any suspision. It wasn't a surprise for them to hear students and teachers talking about what happened Satsuki and Himari over the summer. It was a buzz all over Shujin and Kosei. It was almost amazing how this was being talked about weeks after it happened.

A couple days later, they got a text from Himari saying she was in Shibuya and asking where they could meet up. They were all surprised and excited about this. They decided to meet up at Leblanc and told her how to get there. After school, they all headed their way there except for Ryuji. He said he had something to take care of before he got there so they went off without him. When they got to Leblanc, she was waiting by the door for them. They all ran up to her and gave her a huge group hug.

"It's been too long!" Futaba screamed. Himari laughed.

"I'm happy to see you too." She said. They parted from the hug and laughed with joy. Himari looked at each of them and realized Ryuji was missing. "Where's Ryuji?"

"He had to take of something. Don't worry, he'll be here." Akira said.

"I'm sure he wouldn't miss it for the world." Haru said. Himari smiled at that. She looked back at the door for a second before turning to them again.

"So why did you guys want to come here?" She asked.

"Well, this is where we usually hang out." Ann replied. "But it's also where this guy lives."

"Really?" Himari exclaimed.

"Long, sob story. I'll tell you later." Akira said.

"Come on, let's go inside." Morgana said, poking his head out of Akira's bag. "You still have to meet Boss." They then headed inside. Sojiro was washing dished at the sink. He turned when he heard the bell ring.

"Ah, nice to see you all!" He said with a warm smile.

"The feeling is mutural." Yusuke said. Himari looked around the cafe for a second.

"Oh, you're the girl everyone's been talking about!" Sojiro exclaimed. "Himari Aisaka, right?" Himari nodded and smiled.

"Yes. You can just call me Himari, though." She replied.

"Well, my name is Sojiro Sakura, but everyone here calls me Boss." He said. He looked over at Akira. "I assume she's a new recruit." Akira nodded. Himari looked at him surprised.

"Oh, he knows?" She asked.

"Well, we had to tell him anyway when Futaba got involved." He replied.

"We consider this our private headquarters since we don't have to keep it from Sojiro anymore." Futaba added.

"I'll admit, it was surprising at first but I do what I can as long as they stay out of trouble." Sojiro said. "Well, you guys go ahead and have a seat. I'll bring out the coffee shortly, on me." They all gave a short cheer and sat down at the nearest booth. Before she could, Himari gasped when she saw Sayuri hanging on the wall.

"Oh my gosh, it's Sayuri!" She exclaimed.

"Ah, you have eye for art. I shouldn't be surprised, considering who you are." Yusuke said with a smile.

"That's the real one, right?" Himari asked.

"The one and only." Yusuke replied.

"Great. Now we have two art geeks in here." Futaba groaned. "Well, at least Himari's bearable."

"Excuse me?" Yusuke said with a raised tone. Futaba then stuck her finger at his face with a smirk.

"I meant every word." She said. The group laughed as Yusuke crossed his arms with a pouty face.

"I'm so glad to be with you guys again." Himari said.

"And we feel the same." Makoto said.

"By the way, why are you in town, Himari?" Haru asked. Himari opened her mouth to answer but she stopped and turned toward the door.

"I want to wait till everyone's here." She said. They all understood and nodded. Sojiro then brought over a bunch of cups and put them down.

"Coffee all around, on the house. If y'all need anything else, just ask." He said. They all thanked him and took their first sip together.

"Oh, wow! This is the best coffee I've ever tasted!" Himari exlaimed.

"Sojiro is the best." Futaba commented.

"If only I could taste it." Morgana said.

"Ew, don't drool on the table." Ann said. Morgana turned to her surprised.

"W-what?! I never drool!" He replied.

"You were." Ann said with a smug face.

"You guys are going to start fighting? I thought Ryuji usually did that." Akira said.

"He's not the only one, you know." Makoto said.

"Where did he go anyway? Did he tell you?" Himari asked as she took another sip from her coffee.

"No, but he sure seemed like he was in a hurry." Makoto said.

"Maybe he just got excited that he wanted to hurry up." Ann said. "He wouldn't to miss any chnace to see you again." Himari giggled at that.

"He better hurry up. I don't want to wait all day for him." Morgana said.

"Well, while we're waiting..." Himari said, looking at all of them. "Maybe you guys could take the time to tell me about yourselves. You all know about me and my struggles and I would like to know you guys a little better." There was a short pause between them as they looked at each other.

"Well, in that case, I'll go first." Ann said. Everyone turned their attention to her. "Both of my parents are fashion designers, which means they're hardly ever home. Because of my foreign blood, I have natural blonde hair, which was the cause of me being made fun of and I never had any real friends except for Ryuji and Shiho." Her face turned a little sad as she looked down at her coffee cup. "Everything changed when that bastard Kamoshida came to Shujin. He abused the track and volleyball team to no end and Shiho was on it too. He kept trying to get with me but I always refused." She clutched her hands tightly around the coffee cup when she said that. "That's when he crossed the line. He called Shiho to his office one day and..." She let out a shaky sigh as she stopped talking. Himari was shocked. She heard about this on the news but hearing Ann's story made her realize it was way worse than she thought.

"I'm so sorry, Ann." She said. Ann looked up at her with a smile. She could tell she was still sad but it was a little reassuring.

"The good thing is that Shiho is still alive and Kamoshida is done for." She said. She let out a sigh as she looked at her coffee cup again.

"Let's move on, shall we?" Yusuke said. He sat back on the booth seat with his arms crossed as he got ready to speak. "I was Madarame's pupil ever since I was 3, which was when my mother died and he took me in. As repayment for his 'kindness,' I dedicated my talents and work to him, even if it meant I'd get no recognition." His expression turned serious for a second. "When we went to his Palace, I learned something." He gazed over at Sayuri for a second. "This painting... was made by my mother." Himari's eyes went wide as she switched her gaze between Sayuri and Yusuke.

"Let me guess." She said. "Madarame 'killed' your mother, inherited the painting and took you in for his own gain." Yusuke chuckled.

"You are perceptive." He said.

"Such bullshit." Himari said softly. She looked up at Makoto for a second.

"I really don't have anything special to say." Makoto said. "I was investigating The Phantom Thieves at the time under orders but when some of our students were being threatened by Kaneshiro, I took a stand and now I'm here." She let out a smile at that. "I'll admit, I never would've pictured myself working with the Phantom Thieves, but I wouldn't have it any other way." She looked up at Akira and gave him a wink, which made him chuckle.

"My turn, I guess." Futaba said. She took another sip from her coffee. She took a glance at Sojiro, who was busy in the kitchen. She let out a small smile as she turned back. "My mom and Sojiro became really close when I was young, that's why I know him so well. At the time, she was working really hard on her cognitive psience research and she never really spent that much with me. I was young so I didn't understand it at the moment and I got sad and a little upset with her." She went quiet for a second as she let out a sigh. "Then one day when we were about to cross the street... she commited suicide." Himari's mouth fell open. Futaba hugged her arms tightly. Himari, who was sitting next to her, put her arm around her for comfort.

"Oh, Futaba, that's horrible." She said. Futaba leaned toward her and laid her head on her shoulder.

"When these men in black read her suicide letter to me, I became convinced it was all my fault." She continued. "I shut myself in, no contact with anybody except for Sojiro. I never came out of my room and became super antisocial." She looked up at the group and smiled. "When I heard about these guys and what they did, I asked them to change my heart." Himari looked at them in surprise.

"She had a Palace?" She asked. They all nodded at her.

"Because she was willing to have her heart changed, it was all a little different for us." Morgana said. "We ended up fighting a cognitive version of her mother that she created."

"We also found out that Futaba's mother didn't commit suicide." Makoto added. "Those men in black were people who've been trying to steal her research. They killed her by causing a psychotic breakdown and made it look like a suicide." Himari silently gasped. She looked down at Futaba again. She had a sad look on her face. She hugged her tightly and sincerely.

"We will get them back." Futaba said. "I know we will." Himari nodded her head. She then looked up at Haru.

"What about you, Haru?" She said. "I heard what happened to your father. How did that happen?" Haru looked away from her.

"We're not entirely sure." She replied. "We did everything as usual but for some reason my father ended up having a psychotic breakdown when he was confessing."

"Some of the people we've dealt with have mentioned a person with a black mask in their Palaces." Akira added. "Whoever that is, we think they might be what's causing the psychotic breakdowns."

"We're not entirely sure about it, but it just seems to be the only thing we've got close to it." Morgana said. Himari nodded her head.

"Your mother didn't seem to have this encounter. That's rather suspisious." Yusuke commented.

"We'll never know for sure anymore." Morgana added. Just then, they heard the bell ring at the door. They all turned to see Ryuji walking in.

"Took you long enough." Akira said.

"Sorry, I had to, uh..." He trailed off as he gazed over Himari. She got up from the table and walked over to him. They stood there for a few seconds, simply looking into each other's eyes. They then brought their faces close and started to kiss.

"Ew, get a room." Morgana groaned.

"Shush!" Haru said as she looked at them with great awe. Futaba slightly giggled. Yusuke put his hands up in a box and held it up to them but Ann quickly swat them away.

"Dude, stop." She said.

"I wanted to capture the moment." Yusuke said.

"Then do it with somebody else." Ann said with an irritated face. They kissed each other for a few more seconds before parting.

"I missed you." Ryuji said.

"I missed you too." Himari replied.

"What took you so long? What did you do?" Futaba asked. Ryuji glanced over at them and chuckled nervously. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond studded bracelet. A small smile grew on Himari's face as he held it out to her. She held her hand out to him and he gently puts it around her wrist.

"You left just to get her a bracelet?" Morgana suddenly said. He was about to say something else but Akira pinched his mouth together.

"Ignore him." He said. "He's just jealous." Himari chuckled and looked down at the bracelet.

"I love it." She said. "Thank you." Ryuji felt himself smile. They embraced for a little bit before parting and turning to the group. Ann quickly jumped up excitedly.

"Let me see! Let me see!" She exclaimed. She hastenly grabbed Himari's arm and pulled it towards her.

"Don't rip her arm off." Ryuji said.

"Calm down. You can't have her all for yourself." Ann replied. The others laughed and Ryuji blushed madly.

"Wow. This is a nice bracelet." Haru exclaimed. "How did you get it, Ryuji?"

"I actually got it a few days ago at a shop. I had to go and get it from the house." Ryuji replied.

"So simple, yet elegant." Yusuke said. "I like it."

"How much did it cost you?" Makoto asked Ryuji.

"A couple thousand yen. I didn't have much on me so I just got what I could." He replied.

"I don't care." Himari said. "I love it anyway." Ryuji felt his face go hot as he smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, it seems like everyone's here." Sojiro suddenly said from the counter. "You want anything, Ryuji?"

"Nah, I'm good Boss. Thanks." Ryuji replied. He then looked back at the group. "So did I miss anything important?"

"Not really. We practically just told Himari aboult ourselves." Akira said.

"Oh, so you had some real talk with them." Ryuji said.

"It was past due anyway." Himari replied.

"Now that we're all here, can you tell us why you're in Shibuya?" Haru asked. Himari slightly smiled as she faced the whole group.

"Well, when you guys left, I started talking with Nakamura." Himari said. "As of now, most of the media isn't aware that I haven't left Japan. When I told him about you guys, he then suggested a brilliant plan." Her smile grew even wider. "He suggested that I'd move here." Everyone's eyes grew wide.

"For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"He really suggested that?" Haru asked.

"He's awfully considerate of you. Why is that?" Yusuke asked.

"Who cares! She's finally going to be with us!" Futaba said excitedly.

"I'm kinda curious about that though." Ann said. "He's been doing so much for you. Is there a reason why?"

"Well, the explanation is pretty simple." Himari said. "He was my mother's lawyer and that meant he had to... overlook certain things." They all gave her a serious look. "Ever since she turned herself in, he's been trying to make my life better. He thinks he owes it to me for all the years he was forced to look away from everything that's happened."

"Wow. That's so nice of him." Makoto said. "Is he helping you with everything so far?" Himari nodded her head.

"Well, this works in many ways." Akira said. "We'll be able to opperate as Phantom Thieves without interferences and these two can be together again."

"Is that really a good thing?" Morgana groaned.

"You got a problem, cat?" Ryuji said as he stepped up to Himari and put his arms around her. Morgana rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry Mona." Himari said. "We'll try to keep it at a minimum." She turned and looked at Ryuji. "No guarentees though." Ryuji chuckled, brought her closer and kissed her on the head as she leaned on his chest.

"Don't go overboard though." Futaba said. "I don't want to end up walking in on you two making out." The whole group broke out into laughter at that. They spent the rest of the together inside Leblanc, just as they did before and it was one of the best times they've had.

* * *

Masayoshi Shido. That was their next target. It was their most intense battles yet. With their reputation and Akira's life on the line, they pulled out all the stops on this one. They left no stone unturned and they did their best to stop Shido. It was tough on all of them, especially Akira, but it all paid out in the end as they finally defeated Shido, but that was just another hurdle. His Palace, which was a cruise boat over Shibuya, gave away after and started to sink and explode. All of their exits were blocked and it seemed to be impossible to escape.

"We're gonna die! I don't know how to swim!" Futaba cried out. Himari looked around desperately for any hope of escaping.

"Over there! A lifeboat!" Makoto pointed out. She sighed as she saw it over on the side.

"Let's go!" Ryuji said. They quickly made their way to viewpoint of the boat but they were too far away to make it.

"We just gotta get there." Ryuji said.

"It's too far. We won't reach it in time." Yusuke said. He was right. The ship was sinking fast. There was no way for them to get to the boat fast enough. What were they going to do?

"I got this." Ryuji said softly. Himari looked him.

"Huh?" She said. Ryuji turned to them as he took off his mask.

"Hang tight. I'll nab the boat." He said. He then jumped over the side of the boat in a runner's stance. "It's now or never. Here it goes!" He then sprinted off in incredible speed. He hasn't gone this fast in many years. It felt exhilerating almost but that didn't matter to him. He had to make it to that boat. He jumped over a pool of water as another explosion went off. He was almost there. When he landed, he wasted no time and quickly sprinted up the boat. The others watched as he was slowly making his way toward it.

"Ryuji!" Yusuke yelled.

"Go!" Himari shouted. A small smile crossed Ryuji's face when he heard that. It was enough to give him one last boast of energy to jump and grab the lever. He used the last of his stength and pulled it down. The machine then lowered the boat down as he heard his friends cheer behind him. When he looked back, he saw them slowly getting in as Ann helped. When she helped Himari get in, he saw her glance up at him, which he winked and gave her a thumbs up. When they were all finally on, Yusuke immediately started up the boat.

"Hang on!" Akira yelled.

"We're moving." Yusuke said. They then started to move around the boat, keeping their eyes on Ryuji. It was then another explosion went off, much bigger than the previous ones. They shieled themselves from the blast of intense heat and force. When Himari looked back up, her heart stopped and dropped to her stomach. Ryuji wasn't there anymore. More blasts erupted from the boat before it was blown into bits of nothing. They all stared in shock at what had just occured. Akira was first to react, sitting up with a face full of worry. Himari followed after. She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"No way. It can't be." Ann uttered out softly. Himari started to panic a little.

"Come on, what the hell Ryuji?" She said to herself. She felt some of her tears fall down her face. "RYUJI!!!"

* * *

When they returned to the real world, they were still in a daze. They were quiet for a few minutes before they realized where they were.

"We're back." Ann said. She looked around their surroundings. "Where's Ryuji?" Himari's heart stopped again. She and the others started to look around.

"He didn't... make it out?" Haru said. Himari felt more tears welling up.

"We gotta go back!" Futaba yelled. Morgana shook his head sadly.

"That's impossible." He said.

"Ha... haha. This isn't funny at all." Yusuke said.

"He was our fastest runner too." Ann sobbed. Yusuke reached down to the floor and picked something up.

"So this is the treasure..." He said.

"It's a legislator's pin." Makoto said sadly. Himari couldn't take it anymore. She slid down to the ground and started sobbing loudly. The other girls did too. Himari felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She looked up for a second to see it was Akira. He had a sad look and his eyes were wet with tears. She sobbed even more as she buried her face into her hands.

"Maaaannn, that was close." She heard a familiar voice say. She felt her heart stop again as she looked up. Her eyes went wide as she saw Ryuji walking up to them.

"For real though, why do Palaces gotta explode so much? Can't they disappear normally?" He said. He looked around and noticed everyone was looking at him with dumbfounded looks on their faces. "What?"

"Didn't you... die?" Haru asked. Ryuji's eyes went wide.

"What?!" He said with surprise. "I got blasted out from the explosion. When I woke up, I was lyin' on the grass." He looked down at himself. "I mean, ain't I alive?" He looked back at them and saw Himari. Her mouth was ajar and her face was stained with tears.

"What's this? Why are y'all crying?" He said trying to sound happy. He turned to Ann, who was about the same. "Your crying face is so not cute, Ann." Ann then grew angry at him.

"Ugh, it's your damn fault!" She yelled as she slapped him in the face.

"Ow! What did I do?!" He yelled back.

"We were worried about you!" Haru said. Futaba walked up to him with an angry stance.

"You troublemaker!" She yelled.

"C-calm down, guys! I'm fine!" He said backing away from them. "I had to do something! We all could've died if I didn't do anything!"

"Don't act all macho! We all thought you died!" Ann said. Before Ryuji could say anything back, Himari ran up and hugged him tightly.

"What the-" He uttered out.

"Don't!" Himari screamed into his chest. "Don't you ever pull stunt like that again!" She loudly sobbed as she kept her grip on him. Ryuji looked down at her. He couldn't help but smile at this. It was a little heartwarming for someone to worry about him this much. He put his arms around her hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I won't do it again, I promise."

"You're damn right you won't." She sobbed again. He silently chuckled as held her there and looked at the others. The girls still looked a little pissed at him, which worried him a little. Akira held his head for a second before letting out a sigh.

"Alright, we're done here." He said. "Let's hurry up and go. You guys hungry?"

"Please." Futaba said.

"Ah, finally. Something decent after all this trouble." Yusuke said.

"Let's just go. I'm starving." Ann said. The group then walks off together except for Ryuji. Himari was still clinging to his chest. She wasn't crying anymore and her grip had loosened but she hasn't let go.

"Himari?" He said. She didn't respond. He looked down her a little worried. "Are you ok?"

"I just..." She started off. She lifted her head and looked right up at him. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes still looked glossy. "When the explosion when off and I looked up to see you weren't there, I got so sacred." Ryuji felt himself smile a little. "I thought I lost you and I don't know what I would do without you." She looked up at him with a determined face. "You better swear to me that you will never put yourself in danger again, no matter what."

"But what if-" Ryuji started but Himari put her hand on his mouth. She cupped her hand on his cheek and kept her gaze on him.

"Swear to me." She said. Ryuji gulped. He was scared to make this promise. What if something comes that could hurt or kill her? He didn't want to lose her as much as she didn't want to lose him. He knew that she wasn't going take no for an answer and he couldn't lie about it either. He heaved a sighed and grabbed her hand.

"I swear." He said. He gave her hand a squeeze, showing her that he meant it. She gave him a small smile, which he returned. She then leaned into his chest embraced him. Ryuji put his arms around her and held her tightly. Even though he sweared it, the thought still scared him. He wasn't sure what was going to happen in the future and if something did, he didn't want to just sit by and do nothing. His grip tightened around her without him noticing. He knew it would be a hard decision but if he made this promise then he knows he has to keep it, for both of their sakes and for their love.

* * *

The whole world went to shit after they went to Mementos. They saw so much in there that they never expected like seeing the shadows of previous Palace owners in jail cells but they didn't want to get out. They kept going on how it was better this way, how wrong the Phantom Thieves are. As they progressed forward, they came to a thing called The Holy Grail and it seemed to be the leader of all this. They tried their best to beat it but everything they tried did nothing. The worst part of all this was just beginning.

They were then suddenly transported back to the real world, but they were shocked by the sight. Mementos had come into the real world and nobody but them seemed to notice. They couldn't believe what was happening. Before they could try process what was going on, they each started feeling dizzy and tremendous pain for no reason. None of them knew what was going on until they heard Ryuji gasp.

He looked down in horror to see his hand starting to disappear. He then heard Himari groan behind him. He turned and stared in shock as both of her legs were starting to disappear and the others were too. The Holy Grail spoke again, saying since they "didn't exist," they were being erased from the people's cognition. Himari, with her face full of worry, held out her hand to Ryuji. He tried to reach for hers but just as he was, he heard her groan once more before she slowly faded away. His eyes filled with tears as he yelled out her name before everything went black.

When he came to, he found himself in a jail cell. He felt the urge to get up and try to escape but for some reason, he didn't. He just sat there in silence. For once in his life, he felt the fight in him had left. He had no motivation, no pride, nothing. He couldn't even cry when he thought back to what happened. Seeing Himari disappear before his eyes made him feel devestated but the tears didn't come. It's as if all his emotions just went away. He just felt nothing.

"Ryuji!" He heard a familiar voice say. He looked up to see Akira outstide the jail door. He felt some relief once he saw him but that was about it.

"Hey, man." He said in a monotone voice.

"Come on, we've gotta make this bastard pay. We can't let him get away with what he did." Akira said. Ryuji didn't move. His motivation was gone and millions of doubts flooded his mind. One question stuck out to him the most.

"Is it worth it?" He asked. Akira gave him a confused look. "We just learned that everything we've been doing is practically worthless. What's the point of trying if we're not making a difference in the first place?" They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Akira cracked his signiture smile, which surprised Ryuji.

"Honestly, I'm not so sure myself." He said. "Who knows if we'll succeed or not or if it will even make a difference, but I'd rather try and fail then not do anything at all. And if not for the world, do it for Himari." Ryuji looked at him with interest. "Don't let this bastard get away with your future with her. You guys have a chance right now and you better take it." Ryuji felt a spark inside him. He felt a strong urge burn inside him and he couldn't ignore it. He felt himself smile in what felt like a long time. He chuckled as he stood up.

"You never fail to surprise me, man." He said. "You're right. If there's any chance I can be with Himari again, I'll take it." He started feeling a familiar power stir in him. He flet it overflow him and soon enough, his outfit appeared on him again. He gave Akira another smile as his cell door disappeared. He walked up to him and gave him a hug. When they broke away, Ryuji took a look around for a second.

"Where are the others? Is Himari here?" He asked.

"I pretty sure she is. I still gotta check the other cells. Just wait here for a second." Akira replied. Ryuji understood and nodded. He leaned on the wall patiently once he left. He tapped his foot anxiously as he growled at the thought of The Holy Grail. He was going to make him pay after what happened to Himari and his friends. He wasn't one to let things slide, especially with all the crap that's been happening. Akira was right, it was better to try and fail than let that thing rule over their lives and over humanity.

"Ryuji!" He heard another familar voice. He looked up to see Yusuke in the hallway. He tilted his over, signaling him over. Ryuji smiled as he jogged up to him.

"Glad to see you again, Inari." He said. Yusuke rolled his eyes but smiled.

"The feeling is mutural." He said.

"Ryuji! Yusuke!" They both heard. They turned their heads to see Ann, Makoto and Futaba running up to them.

"Oh, am I ever glad to see you two weirdos again." Futaba said.

"I wasn't sure what to expect after what happened. I got so scared." Ann said.

"You and me both, Ann." Makoto said.

"What of the others? Haru and Himari?" Yusuke asked. Ryuji turned to them worringly.

"Not sure. Akira is still checking this place out." Futaba replied.

"I wonder what this place is. Akira seemed somewhat familiar with it." Makoto stated.

"Whatever this place is doesn't matter." Futaba said. "That Holy Grail is going to get its ass kicked once we leave."

"Damn right." Ryuji said, clutching his fists.

"Guys! Over here!" They all heard someone yell. They all turned to see Akira waving at them from another hallway, signaling them to come. They quickly made their way to him and followed him through. When they reached the end, they found themselves in a round room that was full of other jail cells. Ryuji looked around a bit before he noticed Himari up front, facing away.

"Himari!" He said joyfully. He quickly ran up to her. As she turned around, he hugged her tightly. She stumbled a little but held her ground. When he felt her arms around him, he felt some tears escape his eyes.

"And I thought I was the emotional one." He heard her say. He chuckled as he broke from the hug and looked at her. She smiled at him as she reached up and wiped his tears from his face. "I'm here. Don't worry." They stared at each other gratefully befoee they heard someone's throat clear. They turned to see a little girl with blonde hair.

"I don't mean to interrupt a tender moment, but time is of the essence." She said. It was then everyone noticed a creepy looking man sitting at a desk.

"Yes. You all must make haste if you all want your own lives back." He said.

"Who are you? What is this place?" Haru asked. Akira then walked up to him and turned to them.

"It's a long story guys and we don't have time." He said. "The Holy Grail is already doing its thing and we have this one chance to stop it."

"Will we be able to? I mean, he seemed impossible to beat the first time." Makoto stated.

"Difficult, but not impossible." The girl said. "But even so, there's still no guarentee that this will be able to set things right."

"The odds are against us so we'll be risking everything." They all heard. The turned toward a door to see Morgana standing there with a determined face.

"Mona." Ann uttered.

"We have a chance to defeat this thing and free humanity and yourselves." Morgana said. "This is our last and most important heist as Phantom Thieves. You all have to be ready." Each of them glanced at each other with slight worry.

"Our last job as Phantom Thieves." Futaba repeated.

"We can't waste a second then." Yusuke said. "We need to give it all we've got."

"We will." Akira said with a determined look. "This thing has been pulling the strings since the very beginning. We've played right into his hands. Well, now we're going to change that."

"Wait." Futaba said. "If all of this succeeds, what's going to happen to you?" Everyone looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean, Futaba?" Himari asked.

"She speaks of his real life situation." The girl spoke up. "He's on probation, remember? And he was caught during the heist with Sai-san. We're not entirely sure but there is a strong possibility that after all this settles down, he might get arrested for his involvement."

"What? That's bullshit. We were all involved!" Ryuji blurted out.

"It is what is and we can't change it." She said. "But he knows the risk and he's already made his choice." Everyone looked at Akira. He nodded his head, showing that he's made up his mind. Ryuji stared at him for a second before nodding back at him.

"I'm with you all the way." He said. Himari was next to agree.

"As am I." She said. The rest of the gang stepped up all in agreement.

"We all are." Makoto said. Akira smirked at them.

"Right." He said. "Then let's do this."

* * *

Himari sat in silance as she glanced up at the night sky. She let out a deep sigh as she fiddled grass beneath her. It's been about 2 months since the battle with the Holy Grail happened. None of them knew what to expect and were honestly scared shitless. They all fought their best against it, even though it seemed like they were barely doing anything to it. They came so close to losing hope as it seemed almost impossible.

That was when they heard it. It was millions of people, cheering them on. Down in Shibuya, citizens were calling the Phantom Thieves and giving their support. Himari never felt like this. Hearing people's voices gave them all a powerful feeling of new hope. Not even in all her years of performing has she ever felt this uplifted.

Akira then pulled an incredible move. His Persona suddenly turned in this giant being that even the Holy Grail was surprised. With a simple gunshot, the Holy Grail didn't stand a chance and was defeated instantly.

When they returned to the real world, they new what they had to do, even though they dreaded it. Akira had to go and let himself get arrested again. They others agreed that until the case with Akira could be resolved, they had to lay low. Himari knew what this meant. She and Ryuji both knew. Two agonizing months of not seeing each other and hardly any contact has been really tough. She was able to occupy herself with her music and other hobbies but not seeing the gang and Ryuji has made it harder to focus. She would make frequent trips to the park as it was one of the only places she could focus or relax but even that had its flaws. She would constantly see couples out on the lake or walking around that just made her feel awful. She just wishes for once that she could see Ryuji again.

She picked off some of the grass from where she was sitting. She started splitting as evenly as she could as she let out another sigh. The things a person does when they're bored. She split the last piece in half and watched as wind carried it away from her hand. She lay back on the ground and looked at stars. Words couldn't describe how beautiful it was. The millions of stars twinkled and she even saw a few shooting stars quickly glide across the sky. She smiled slightly as she closed her eyes for a second to make a wish. Only one wish was clear to her. She clenched her fist a little as she really wanted this to come true.

"Himari?" She suddenly heard a voice say. Her eyes bolted open in surprise. Right in front of her was a familiar face slightly above her.

"Ryuji!" She exclaimed. Out of reflex, she tried to sit up but ended up colliding her head with his.

"Ow! And I thought I was hard headed." Ryuji groaned.

"Sorry!" She let out as she rubbed her head. She then sat up and looked right at him. "What are you doing here?" Ryuji rubbed his head some more before looking at her.

"What? Can I not visit my girlfriend after not seeing her for two months?" He said.

"But we all agreed that..." She started off.

"I know, I know but I couldn't take it anymore." He said. "I had to see you again." He groaned as he rubbed head once more before he sat next to her. He noticed her face was still a little bewildered. "Are you not happy to see me?" Himari immediately shook her head.

"No, no! That's not it, I just..." She stuttered a little with her words. "I just wasn't really expecting it. How did you even know I was here?"

"Well, I noticed you would come here a lot. I just had a hunch you might be here tonight." He replied. Himari nodded her head understanding. They sat there in silence for a few seconds, both trying to think how to break it.

"How have you been these two months?" Ryuji finally asked. "Anything interesting happen?"

"Not really. I haven't exactly done much." Himari replied. "I've been think a lot about you guys. Is there any news on Akira's case?"

"Nah, and it pisses me off." Ryuji said with slight anger in his voice. "Not only is effin' unfair but I've just hated these past two months. I've only been able to talk to Ann, Makoto, and sometimes Haru but it's just not the same."

"I see." Himari said saddly. "I haven't been able to talk to any of them. It's been really lonely for me." She looked over at him. "And I've really missed you." Ryuji glanced at her with a sincere face. He moved his hand toward her face and caressed her cheek. Himari felt like she hasn't felt his touch in years. It was relieving to feel it again.

"Oh, by the way." He said as he reached into his pocket. Himari looked curiously, trying to see what it was. He then pulled out a small white box with a blue ribbon tied on it. "Happy late birthday." Himari was again taken back by this. She's completely forgotten about her birthday since this whole ordeal started. She slowly took the box from him and examined it.

"How did you know my birthday passed?" She asked.

"I got curious one day and decided to look you up." He replied. Himari chuckled a little.

"I guess being famous helps with that." She said. Ryuji chuckled.

"Open it." He said almost excited. Himari glanced at him for a second. He had a smile that was as if it was his own gift. She smiled as she undid the ribbon and opened the box. She gasped when she saw it. It was a small silver ring with a diamond in the middle and surrounded by small blue gems. She took it out to examine it closely.

"Oh my gosh." She uttered out. "Is this a promise ring?" She looked at him again. He was looking right at her. His eyes were sincere in way she's never seen before. He took in a breath as he took one of her hands and held it with his.

"Himari," He started off. Himari looked right at him and payed full attention to what he was going to say. She felt her heart beat heavily against her chest, almost violently. "Ever since I met you, I was drawn to you. I don't know what it was about you, but I just immediately felt attracted you, more than I've felt for anybody else." Himari felt him squeeze her hand a little. "Once I got to know you, those feeling just cemented even more to the point where I just felt like I had to be with you, no matter what." He took in another breath that was a little shakier than the last.

"You are the love of my life, Himari." He continued. "I don't know what the future will be like, but I honestly can't see it without you in it. I want you to be with and I want to be with you, through all the fights and the struggles, I want to be with you until the end." Himari's jaw fell open to his words. Her heart swelled with immense emotions that she felt like it would burst. Her mouth then formed into a smile as she looked down at the ring in her hand. Nothing could describe how she was feeling right at this moment other than her love for Ryuji growing even more. She giggled slightly as her smile grew wider and she held the ring out to him.

"Would you like to do the honors?" She asked. Ryuji chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He then took the ring from her, took her hand and put it on her ring finger. A wide smile grew on both of their faces. Himari held her hand out to look it. She leaned into his chest as he put his arm around her.

"So I guess it's official." She said as she admired the ring. "Our status has updated." Ryuji then reached his hand over to hers and laced his fingers between hers.

"When all this is over, I'll make up for the time we've lost." He said. "It means more waiting but it'll be so worth it."

"Does the rest of the gang know about this?" Himari asked.

"Hell no. They don't need to know." Ryuji said. "I wanted to do this myself. Plus, I think they'll appreciate the surprise."

"Was that your intention all along?" Himari joked. Ryuji looked down at her with a smirk.

"My only thought was of you, Himari. Always will be." He replied. Himari's heart warmed up with more emotion and love. She couldn't get enough of this feeling. They then brought their lips together and kissed in what felt like an eternity. All of her emotions went right into that kiss and it just felt so right for her. She wished they could stay together but they had part yet again. Himari didn't as bad though. Looking at the ring reminded her of the promise they've made to each other and she just can't wait for how the future will be for them.

 ** _*yeah, yeah, i know i took forever with this chapter and im SO SORRY! with school being an issue and literally having the worst writers block ever and to top it off, so much has been happening personally that's just been hard to deal with(dont worry, ill be fine). thx for being patient tho. theres one more chapter i want to do with this so you just have to wait a little longer. thx again for reading and enjoying this fic. stay tuned :)_**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:** **Til The End**

 ** _8 years later_**

"You sure this isn't too much?" Ryuji asked as he groomed his hair in the mirror. After the whole case with Akira was sorted out, everything seemed to go back to normal for a bit. With his probation revoked and his life seemingly to be getting better, he could finally move back with his family. It was a little disappointing but it was more than relieving to be able to hang out with everybody again, even if it was for a short while.

That, of course, wasn't the only good news. When everyone saw the ring on Himari's finger, they were all over it. The gang was so happy for them and also couldn't believe that Ryuji was able to do that on his own, much to his annoyance. Even Morgana, who honestly couldn't care less, just couldn't believe that it even happened.

Throughout the years, they've all kept in touch and hung out as much as they could. Akira actually opened his own cafe with the help of Sojiro, which became a new hangout spot for them. It wasn't the best but he was able to get through life without much problem. Yusuke and Futaba put their skills together and were able to make digital art together. Although it still doesn't make much since he was still a struggling artist, they both now had two different fields to work and Futaba even picked up on the hobby herself. Ann started working with her parents in the fashion industry and became a top designer in kimonos and yukatas in Japan. Makoto went to college and studied in the law firm and psychology and became a therapist for troubled teens. Haru started to expanded Okumura Foods to different branches and even helped Akira by supplying his coffee and ingrediants for food.

Ryuji and Himari's relationship grew more throughout the years. A couple of years after Ryuji graduated, they decided to move in together. Himari continued to work on her music and Ryuji actually started running again. It took some time and more work than usual but he started getting back to the star he was before and he was soon participating in more sports other than track. In eight years, they offically became engaged. As expected, the whole gang was happy for them and all began to help and chip in for the wedding. Akira obviously became Ryuji's Best Man and Himari chose Makoto to be the Maid of Honor. As the girls went off to get the dress, all the guys went to try on their tuxes.

"Stop it. You keep this up, you're going to end up getting cold feet and Himari won't be the only one that's going to get hurt." Akira threatened.

"Geez, you didn't need to go that far." Ryuji said. He looked at himself in the mirror to straighten himself out. His hair had gone back to black after he stopped dyeing it. He had on a black tux jacket with tailfeathers in the back, a white long sleave dress shirt with a stripped vest, orange tie, black slacks, black dress shoes and white gloves.

"Relax. You shouldn't be this worked up. It should be the best time of your life." Yusuke said as he put on the rest of his tux.

"Yeah, I know, but..." He looked at himself in the mirror again. "It's just that I'm not really used to all this."

"Just be glad it's only happening for one day." Akira said. He placed his hands on his shoulders, reassuring him. "Don't think about it too much. It'll all be over in an instant and it will be all better."

"Yes, so much better." Yusuke said. "You'll be a married man with the love of your life." Ryuji slightly smiled at that. It was so much to take in. He still can't believe he's even gotten this far with her or anyone with anyone for that matter.

"You'll be fine." Yusuke reassured. "Now please help me with this stupid cummerbund."

"Geez. You're hopeless, Inari." Ryuji said as he turned to him. It was then Akira's phone chimed.

"Oh, I got to go. The girls wanted a guy's opinion." Akira said.

"What? Why can't I go?" Ryuji asked.

"You're the groom, smart one. You want more bad luck than you're going to bring?" Yusuke said. Ryuji gave him an annoyed face.

"Don't worry, you can trust me. I'll see you two later." Akira said. They nodded in agreement as Akira signed out the tux and left to the bridal shop.

* * *

When Akira made it to the shop, he found Haru, Ann, and Makoto crowded Futaba who they were helping getting fitted into a dress.

"Oh my gosh, you look so cute!" Ann squealed.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it!" Futaba yelled.

"Oh, please. You look so adorable in this, Futaba-chan." Haru added.

"Shut up!" Futaba said again, adding a stomp to her shout.

"Whoa there, you'll ruin the dress before you even get it." Akira joked. All the girls turned to him and greeted him with a smile.

"Hey there." Makoto said. "Himari's getting fitted right now and Futaba's being a little fiesty."

"She almost pulled out the previous fitter's hair!" Ann said.

"She almost made me fall over! I have a reason!" Futaba shouted. Akira chuckled as he stepped closer to them to get a better look. The girls then parted to let him see better. When he saw Futaba, who was in a sparkly royal blue off-shoulder short dress with silver high heels, he chuckled again.

"Don't say it!" Futaba said, blushing heavily. "Don't you dare!"

"Fine, fine, I won't say anything." Akira said. He then patted her head and smirked. Futaba turned extremely red as the others giggled behind him.

"You all are so dead." She said.

"Oh, Futaba, calm down." Makoto said, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. "You look great and it'll be for one day. You'll be fine."

"Did you guys already try on your dresses?" Akira asked.

"Yup. Fits like a glove." Ann said.

"By the way, is Mona-chan still _'napping?'_ " Haru asked.

"Well, you guys know how he feels about Ryuji." Akira said. "Don't worry, he's still coming just don't expect him to be extatic about it."

"I thought Ryuji was the one that needed to grow up." Ann joked. "How's he doing, by the way?"

"Well, he's doing good so far. The nerves are starting to get to him." Akira replied.

"He's not thinking about doing something stupid, is he?" Makoto asked. "I'll give him the beating of a lifetime if he does." Akira smirked at her.

"You and me both." He said. Makoto chuckled with a somewhat evil smile.

"Excuse me?" They all turned to the fitter peering at them behind the screen. "She's ready." The girls excitedly clapped and squealed as the fitter called Himari to come out. When she did, everyone's jaws dropped. She had a strapless laced white dress with a long semi-fluffy skirt with flower designs all over it and some arm-length white gloves. Her black hair was tied back away from her face in a simple waterfall braid.

"Oh. My. God!" Ann shouted. "You look gorgeous!" Himari giggled as she blushed.

"Oh, it's perfect!" Haru exclaimed. "Can't wait to see Ryuji's reaction when he sees you." Makoto walked up to her and took her hands with a big smile.

"He will be drooling at the first sight of you." She said the girls giggled around her. Akira chuckled as he walked up to her. She was starting to turn even redder than before.

"I've had enough flattery so please stop." She said, smiling sheepishly. Akira chuckled as he patted her on the shoulder.

"Ryuji will love it." Akira said. Her smile as she heard his name. She covered her face in embarrassment as she giggle some more.

"So, we have a verdict?" The fitter asked. All the girls nodded.

"This is definetly it." Ann said. "And the dresses for us are perfect." The fitter smiled and nodded.

"Whoever the man is, he's very lucky, my dear." She said. Himari smiled again.

"Not him." She said. "I'm the one that's lucky."

* * *

The next couple of days were just pure chaos. They were able to get everything in order, but as usual, everything seems to almost fall apart as the wedding day was approaching. This was stressing both Himari and Ryuji to they point they almost ended up fighting for petty reasons such as the wrong order of food or flowers. The gang did their best to handle most of it themselves so they didn't have to worry but something always ended up going through the cracks that stressed them out even more.

Two days before the wedding came, Ryuji and Himari had another fight that ended badly. Ryuji left the house, leaving Himari alone to cry and worry even more. That's when they had to step in. All of the girls except for Makoto stayed to help Himari calm down while she, Akira, and Yusuke went after Ryuji. They went all over Shibuya but didn't find him anywhere. It was when they went to the Red Light District when they found him at the Crossroads, sitting alone and playing with a glass of whiskey.

"Geez, you scared us half to death. We looked everywhere for you!" Akira said.

"Well, here I am." Ryuji replied in a dejected tone.

"Didn't we discuss this before? Don't run off on us like that again!" Yusuke said.

"Sorry." Ryuji said in the same tone. They all let out a sigh of slight relief.

"Oh, hello honeys!" The bar tender said. "Don't worry, I'll leave him to you. Since it looks like you're all having a stressful day, I'll let this be on me."

"Oh, thank you." Makoto said. "Just give us something light. We don't want to take up too much of your time." The bar tender scoffed.

"Please dear, it's the least I could do. He's having love problems and it's good to have support in the time of need." He replied.

"Oh, in that case, let me get the drinks. I used to work here so it makes this easier." Akira said.

"Oh, you're such a doll, honey. Knock yourself out." The bar tender replied. They all thanked him as Yusuke and Makoto sat around Ryuji while Akira went behind the bar.

"If you guys came to grill, let me have it." He said.

"You have a lot on your plate right now. You don't need any more." Makoto said.

"We understand if this is stressful, Ryuji. It's a wedding, it's supposed to be." Yusuke added. Ryuji sighed as spun the whiskey around in the cup.

"It's just that you see it in movies and shows and stuff and you never really think that it could be that hectic and crazy but..." He trailed off as he took a sip of whiskey. "Now that it's here, this feels so effin' insane!" He slammed the glass down with brute force that even he flinched. He looked up, about to apologize to the bar tender, but he shook his head and smiled, showing he understood.

"How many have you had?" Akira asked, holding the bottle of whiskey.

"It's my first one." He replied. Akira nodded and poured him another drink.

"Give me some." Makoto said. Akira looked at her with a weird look. "What, can't I drink whiskey too?"

"You said _'light.'_ " Akira enunciated. He was about to say something else but she gave him a look of annoyance. "Nevermind. Yusuke, you want one?"

"Might as well." He said. Akira then poured them two glasses.

"Ok, back to the groom in distress." Akira joked. "Look, no one said this was going to be easy, weddings never are. That's why we're all here to help. Don't let this stress get in the way, Ryuji. You love Himari, right?"

"Of course I do. I have ever since I met her!" He said as he got up from the table, agitated. He took another gulp of the whiskey before speaking again. "I want this to be special and I want to take this step with her. I mean, after this, we'll be more than just simply Himari and Ryuji. We'll be Mr. and Mrs! Why wouldn't I want this?!" He slammed his hands down on the table as he groaned.

"That's just it." Yusuke spoke up. "Why wouldn't you want this? Maybe it's just the stress but there must be something inside you that is probably adding to the weight on your shoulders."

"Plain and simple please, Inari!" Ryuji groaned.

"What he means to say," Makoto interrupted. "Is that there is probably something else about this whole idea that scares you."

"That's what I just said." Yusuke said.

"So do you think maybe there's something else?" Makoto asked. Ryuji sighed as he held his head.

"I don't know." He replied. "I always thought this wouldn't be that big of a deal but now..." He played with his empty glass on the table with a pained expression. "I just feel so scared."

"Why? What makes you feel scared?" Akira asked, leaning on the bar. Ryuji's expression started to fill with more fear and pain.

"Last night, I had another nightmare." He said. The others inched closer to him, giving him their full attention. "I saw Himari crying and she was covered in bruises. I went to try to comfort her but when I did, she pushed me away and was scared of me."

"Why?" Yusuke asked. "What happened?" Ryuji covered his eyes with his hand.

"She kept telling me to get away, to not touch her." He said, his voice slightly breaking. "Then she said that I did this to her. And when I looked down at my hands they were..." He sighed as he leaned down on the table. Akira, Makoto and Yusuke shared glances with each other. They all knew what this meant.

"You're afraid of becoming like your father." Yusuke stated. "That's... horrible, Ryuji."

"With all this stress and the day approaching, it must've awoken an unknown fear to you." Makoto said. Akira sighed. Seeing his best friend like this really hurt, especially since he would even think about himself like this.

"I know that they say _'like father, like son,'_ but I don't think it could happen to you." Akira said. Ryuji looked up at him with worry.

"I want to believe that, but I've almost lost my cool so many times to the point where I've almost hurt somebody." Ryuji replied.

"But you haven't." Yusuke said. "You've been able to stop yourself everytime the opportunity came up. No matter how close you came, you've never laid you hands on anyone."

"What happened with Kamoshida was unfair and wrong." Makoto said. "Everything after that, you've always been able to restrain yourself. I'd say that you will never become like your father. You're much stronger than that."

"And Himari won't blame you." Akira added. "She knows what you've been through. She loves you way too much to blame you for this and she knows more than any of us how abuse can affect someone."

"She was in the same boat as you, remember?" Makoto said with a sincere smile. "That's how you ended up connecting with each other." Ryuji wasn't sure what to say. He felt a little dumb at the moment. Has he really forgotten what Himari went through? He can't believe how selfish he's been this whole time. How could he forget something important as that?

"I have to go." He said as he hastenly stood. "I've gotta go back. I've gotta fix this!" He quickly ran out the door.

"Wait! Ryuji!" Yusuke yelled. They followed him out of the bar. Akira stopped before he was out and glanced over at the bar tender.

"Don't worry honey. It was my pleasure to help." He said. Akira thanked him one last time before running out of the bar to catch up.

* * *

The three of them panted as the stood outstide of the house. They were hardly able to keep up with Ryuji since they weren't as in shap as he was. He was standing right at the door but he didn't knock.

"What are you... waiting for?" Yusuke panted as collapsed on the ground. "Just knock already!"

"Shut it, Inari." Ryuji said. Akira and Makoto tried to say something but they were panting way too hard that it hurt to try and speak. Ryuji stood there for a few seconds before he let out a sigh and knocked on the door. After a minute, Haru appeared at the door with a reassuring smile.

"Oh, thank goodness!" She exclaimed. "We were all so worried!"

"Is she..." Ryuji said. Haru looked back inside for a second before turning to him again.

"We calmed her down. She seems to be ok." She replied.

"I need some time with her, alone." He said. Haru stared at him before nodding.

"Of course. I'll tell the girls." She said. She then went back inside. For some reason, Ryuji looked down at his hands. He wasn't sure what to expect but he was still afraid of doing something he was going to regret. His hands balled up into fists as he closed his eyes.

"You'll be fine." He heard Akira said. He felt him put his hand on shoulder. As much as he wanted to believe that, he couldn't help but worry even more. The sound of the door opening brought him back to his senses. He saw Ann, Futaba and Haru standing there, all with somewhat worried expressions.

"We'll leave you to it." Ann said.

"You better not make this any worse." Futaba said.

"Not now, Futaba-chan." Haru said. They then exited the door for Ryuji to get in. He took in a breath as he stepped in and closed the door behind him. He saw Himari standing a bit away from him. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was visibly stained with tears.

"Himari..." He uttered out. She started to walk toward him slowly. "I-I just wanted to apologize and explain why I ran off." As she was getting closer, he started feeling a little nervous. "I've been totally selfish and it's stupid of me to not think about how you were feeling. It's all my fault so..." She was right in front him, still doing nothing but staring. He felt himself gulp as he closed his eyes and waited for it. He was expecting a slap to the face or even a punch but nothing came. He then felt her warm arms around him and her weight on his chest. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see her hugging him and leaning her head on his chest.

"You're... you're not mad at me?" He asked. Her grip tightened around him.

"Why would I be mad?" She said. "This date has been affecting us in more ways than one. I'm just glad that you came back." She buried her head into his chest. Ryuji slowly put his arms around her, still a little hesitant.

"Your not going to ask why?" He asked. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to say yes or no.

"Whatever it was, let's not worry about it now." She said. "I just want you here." Ryuji gulped again, this time so she didn't hear it. "Plus, I'm kinda tired."

"You wanna go to bed?" Ryuji said.

"Carry me?" She asked. Ryuji slightly smiled as he picked her up bridal style and started walking to the bedroom. Once he was there, he noticed she ended up falling asleep in his arms. He smiled again as he carefully placed her down on the bed as comfortable as he could and slowly lay down next to her. He brushed some of her hair away to look at her sleepy face. He softly caressed her face, making his way over to her shoulder. He then traced his way and ended up to her left hand. He sighed as he looked at the ring on her finger.

"I want this more than anybody." He whispered as he held her hand. "I love you more than anything. I don't want to screw this up like I always do." He looked up at her peaceful face. "I'm not going to be like my dad. I will not run off like he did or hurt you in any way. And if I do, I hope you will be able to forgive me if it happens." He suddenly felt his hand being squeezed. He looked down at in surprise and when he looked back at her, she was looking right at him.

"I fell in love with you because you and I shared our struggles with an abusive parent." She said. "We connected in more ways than one and we both understand how our parents have had a negative effect on us." He hand moved up to his cheek. "Do not think for one moment that this will change anything between us. I will love you, no matter what and I will stay by your side until the end." Ryuji was at a loss for words. Everything Himari has done for him never ceases to amaze him. He drew his face close as he placed his forehead on hers.

"I'm so sorry." He said softly. "I will never leave you again." Himari brought her lips close to his.

"You never have, and I know you never will." She whispered. They then shared a long, loving kiss as they lay in each other's arms for the rest of the night.

* * *

This was it. It's the big day the gang's been waiting for. After the mess with Himari and Ryuji was cleared up, the others worked their hardest to keep the wedding under control and make it go as smooth as possible. After two days of double checking everything, it was finally the wedding day. Everyone was excited and nervous. The guests started to show as the bride and groom got ready in their seperate rooms. Ryuji stared into the mirror as he felt the last of his nerves coming to him.

"Don't worry." Akira said as he walked in, all dressed in his tux. "It'll be over in a flash and you'll soon be laughing at yourself for thinking this way."

"I know." Ryuji replied. He pulled down his jacket to be more comfortable. "But I'm still nervous. I can't believe I've made it this far."

"Me either." They both heard a voice say. Morgana than trodded up and jumped on a nearby stool. "But I gotta admit, even someone like you deserves a happy ending." Ryuji rolled his eyes but shrugged it off as he pet Morgana's head.

"Thanks for the vote of confidance, cat." He said. He let out a sigh he fidgeted with his tux some more.

"You'll be fine. I know you will." Morgana said in a reassuring tone. Akira placed his arm around Ryuji.

"Just don't think about it. Everything will be better from here on out." Akira said. Ryuji let out another sigh as he smiled at himself in the mirror.

"You're right. This will be awesome. I'm going to be married with the person I love more than anyone else in the world." He chuckled as he straightened his tie.

"Ahem." They heard behind them. They then turned to see Yusuke and Makoto in the dressing room. "It's almost time." Yusuke said.

"You two ready?" Makoto asked. Akira nodded and turned to Ryuji, who smiled and nodded as well.

"I'll see you at the alter." Morgana said as he trodded out the door. Akira walked to Makoto and took a look at her.

"Is everyone else ready?" He asked.

"Yes. We had a few... problems with a certain orange haired girl but everything is in place." She replied. Both chuckled at that. Ryuji looked at them curiously.

"You look beautiful, by the way." He added. Makoto smiled. There was a slight hint of blush on her cheeks.

"Not bad yourself." She said softly. Akira put his hands on her shoulders and smiled. Ryuji smiled before Yusuke stepped in front of him with a smile himself.

"They wanted to keep it a secret." He whispered. "Today's about you and we must be off." He gestured toward the door.

"Alright, fine." He said. He started walking toward the doors before taking one last glance at them. They hugging this time and Akira happened to look up at him when he did.

"Go!" He mouthed. Ryuji chuckled and started walking to the alter. He was at the doors when he let out a sigh and straightened himself out one last time.

"Don't worry. You look fine." He heard to his right. He saw Ann walking up to him with a sweet and sincere smile.

"Ah. For once, you're taller than me." He joked as he looked down at her heels.

"Do you ever grow up?" Ann replied.

"Calm down, I'm kidding." He said. "You look great." Ann smiled again.

"Thanks." She replied. Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Oh, there you are!" Haru said, walking up to them. She had Morgana in her arms, petting him evenly.

"I said wait up!" They heard a shrill cry. They looked behind them to see Futaba slowly walking to Haru.

"Will you be able to walk down the aisle ok?" Yusuke asked. They all turned to see him behind Ryuji.

"When did you get here?" Ryuji asked.

"Don't worry, Inari. You'll be helping me. You just need to keep up with my pace." Futaba replied.

"Of course." Yusuke smiled.

"Hey guys." Makoto said as she and Akira walked to them.

"Well, looks like we're all here." Morgana said. "You ready for this, Ryuji?" They all turned to him. He looked down as he sighed and smiled at them and nodded.

"I am." He said. The others smiled at that.

"Well," Ann said, holding her arm out. "Let's go then." Ryuji smiled as he took her arm around his and took in a deep breath as the doors opened. Everyone in the room turned to them, smiling greatly. Ryuji gulped but smiled back as they started walking to the alter. Ryuji felt his heart beat against his chest as tried to avoid eye contact as much as he could. Seeing everyone just stare at him made him feel nervous.

 _Just be cool._ He thought. _We're almost there. Don't worry._ They then reached the alter, where they would part ways. Ann looked at him with a sincere smile.

"I'm so happy for you, Ryuji." She said. "Good luck." Ryuji nodded to her as she went to the left and he stepped up to the alter next to the priest. Next came Akira and Makoto, who were both smiling as they shared a few glances between the people. Makoto was slightly blushing from all this. Before they parted their ways, Akira reached over and gave her a peck on the cheek, which made her blush more. Ryuji silently chuckled at that. Next was Yusuke and Futaba. They took a little longer since Futaba was still slow at walking with heels. but Yusuke kept at her pace and even helped her to her side when they finished.

It was then when Ryuji heard the wedding march begin and he saw everyone slowly stand up. When he looked over at the doors, he froze and felt his heart drop to his stomach. He saw Haru and Himari walking down the aisle and his eyes were immediately drawn to Himari. She was looking right at him with a smile. Everything about her at that moment was perfect. Her dress flowed with every step she took and hair tied back behind her ears let Ryuji see her beautiful face with just the right amount of makeup. It seemed to all go in slow motion for Ryuji as he enjoyed every detail of her just walking down aisle. She then came up to the alter, hugging Haru before they parted and then walking right beside Ryuji, both turning to face each other.

"Hi." She said softly, smiling even wider. Ryuji found himself smiling again as he took one last look at her from head to toe.

"Hey." He said after a while. They both looked into each other's eyes before the priest cleared his throught, signaling he was about to begin.

"Dearly beloved," He started off. "We are gathered here to join this man, Ryuji Sakamoto, and this woman, Himari Aisaka, in holy matrimony." He leaned towards Himari. "Would you like to say something, dear?" He asked. Himari nodded her head and turned to Ryuji.

"Ryuji," She said. "Before I met you, my life, as most people would see it, seemed perfect. I had everything that most people would dream about, but there was always something missing. I didn't even know I needed it because I distracted myself with my music and other things. Even so, I've always felt that my life was incomplete and I've never really been truly happy." She took in a shaky breath as she looked down for a second. When she looked up at him again, she reached her hands to him. He gently took her hands as he smiled greatly.

"After that fateful night at the hotel, I slowly came to realize what was missing." She continued. "For the first time ever, I had made some amazing friends that I know will last forever. I also met the most caring man ever, which I've come to call my best friend and the love of my life. I never would've imagined myself standing here at all, but seeing who's in front of me right now, I have no doubt in mind and I can't wait to share the rest of my life with you. I love you." She smiled as she blinked away the tears in her eyes. Ryuji was deeply touched by this so much, he had to blink away his own tears.

"That was beautiful." The priest said. He then looked over at Ryuji. "You, sir?" Ryuji nodded as he let took in a breath. He looked right into Himari as he started to speak.

"Himari, you have no idea how much you're worth to me." He said. "My life has never been the best and although I tried to make the best of it, it all just seems to fall apart again and sometimes get even worse. There have been times when I've wondered if it was even worth it to keep going. Then when I met my best friend, everything turned around. I found a reason for me to keep going and because of that, I was able to meet you." He squeezed her hands as he took in another breath.

"After I met you, that's when I knew it was worth it." He continued. "Every second I spent with you made up for all the bad things. I don't ever want to lose you because you are the only thing that I'm ever going to need to make my life better and I hope I will be able to the same for you from here on out. I will love you, no matter what." Himari's smile grew even wider once he finished. He let out a silent sigh and nodded his head toward the priest.

"Very well." He replied. "Now, the rings." Akira and Makoto both gave the rings to him and he then held it out to the couple. They both took their rings and looked at each other again. "Go ahead, my dear." The priest said to Himari. She nodded and took Ryuji's left hand.

"I, Himari Aisaka, take thee, Ryuji, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worst, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish forever, til death do us part." She then slid the ring onto his finger. Ryuji silently chuckled as admired the ring for a second before he took Himari's hand and looked up at her.

"I, Ryuji Sakamoto, take thee, Himari, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worst, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish forever, til death do us part." He looked down as he slid the ring on her finger and squeezed her hand tightly. He heard her chuckled and when he looked at her, she had the hugest smile on her face.

"Well," The priest said, smiling. "By the power vested in me, it is my honor to now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." At that, Ryuij cupped Himari's face in his hands, leaned over and kissed her. Cheers erupted from the crowd as they applauded and screamed with joy. When Ryuji parted from Himari, he smiled at her.

"We did it." He said. Himari nodded as she put her arms around his neck.

"Yes, we did." She replied. Ryuji felt a rush of happiness as he grabbed her tightly and swung her in the air. Himari laughed joyfully as the rest of the gang came up and started hugging and congradulating them. Everything felt just right for all of them.

"I can't believe it! You're now married!" Ann squealed. They all let out another cheer as they hugged them even tighter.

"Guys, don't choke me before the day ends." Ryuji joked. They all laughed as they parted. They all then looked on to the crowd of people before them, who were all coming up to congradulate them. Ryuji glanced over at Akira, who had his arm around Makoto. Akira finally looked over at him. Ryuji smiled and held his hand out to him.

"Thanks man. None of this would've happened without you." He said. Akira returned the smile and took his hand.

"Of course, buddy. I'll always be here for you like you were for me." Akira said.

"Til the end?" Ryuji asked. Akira flashed him his signature smirk and nodded.

"Til the end." He replied.

 ** _*and there we have it. the end of honestly one of the hardest fanfics ive written. you have no idea how many times ive had to rewrite a chapter because it just felt like it wasnt good enough. all in all though, i really liked this fic and i hope you guys did too. thx for those who favorited, followed and reviewed this fic. love you guys and keep an eye out for more of my stories(im working on another one right now) ;)_**


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